Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Aquatics Misconduct Investigation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City lifeguard alleges uninvestigated sexual exploitation in aquatics; PARD says third‑party review under way
Summary
A city lifeguard told the Parks and Recreation Board that human resources and departmental investigations failed to fully investigate allegations of sexual exploitation and related misconduct in aquatics. The Parks and Recreation Department said it is conducting third‑party reviews of investigations and a cultural scan of the division.
A longtime City of Austin lifeguard told the Parks and Recreation Board that managers in the aquatics division engaged in sexual relationships, provided drugs to staff and failed to investigate reports from teenage lifeguards.
“Working there was traumatic as a teenager,” lifeguard Scott Cobb said during public citizen communication, and he said internal investigative summaries misstated facts and omitted interviews with named employees. Cobb said two lifeguards mentioned in documents were not located in human resources databases and that alleged incidents were not referred to Austin Police Department.
The department’s director, Director Aguirre, told the board the department takes “all allegations of any misconduct seriously,” and said PARD has investigated allegations internally and with the City’s human resources department. Aguirre added that the department has engaged a third party to review past investigations and is conducting a third‑party cultural scan of the division’s policies and procedures.
Why it matters: Cobb’s public remarks allege gaps in prior investigations and say some victims were not contacted; the department’s statements show the issue is the subject of ongoing review by external contractors as well as internal coordination with HR and, when appropriate, Austin Police Department.
What was said and what the department plans: Cobb told the board he and others filed material with the city auditor and that an HR investigation dated February 2023 stated investigators could not find named employees. Director Aguirre said PARD is reexamining those investigations and pursuing both a third‑party review of investigative records and a cultural assessment of the aquatics division to produce recommendations.
Board members asked clarifying questions on whether allegations were reported directly to APD; Cobb said some reports were made only to PARD and HR, and he criticized the department’s handling of referrals to police.
Next steps: Director Aguirre said the department is continuing coordination with the human resources department, the city attorney’s office and Austin Police Department where appropriate, and will report findings from the third‑party reviews once available.
(Ending) The remarks came during the public comment portion of the board’s April meeting; no formal board action on the allegations was taken during the session.
