Several aquatic-related crimes made headlines during the 2009 swim season. This spring a boy was hit in the face with a brick during a fight that broke out among a group of youths at Darwin, Australia’sLeanyer Recreation Park. The victim was hospitalized, and two boys taken into custody for their roles in the attack.
At the Big Blue Waterpark in Beatrice, Neb., unidentified culprits stole the facility’s popular floating alligator — a 9-foot climbing attraction. Later in the summer, vandalism also was reported at the city pool in Healdton, Okla., and Vista, Calif.’s city-owned waterpark. The latter caused approximately $18,000 in damage and two teens were later apprehended in connection with the incident.
In August, Aquatics Director Jose Sottilo was charged with embezzling $100,000 from Suburban Swim Club in Newton, Pa. According to reports, he planned to use the money to fund his own marketing business.
