Consider this a final update on the most unsavory story of 2011, the story of youth climbing coach Mike Lyons sexually assaulting a girl on the team he coached. Multiple outlets including The Baltimore Sun have reported that the 31-year-old Lyons pleaded guilty to one charge and faces eight years in prison after admitting to the charges against him:
Michael J. Lyons, 31, choked back tears as Howard County prosecutor Kim Oldham told Judge Louis A. Becker III that as an instructor and the former head coach of a competitive climbing team, Lyons had sex with the girl several times this year, though he knew it was wrong.
Another coach at the same gym, 20-year-old Daniel Montague, also faced charges stemming from an incident with the same girl, however he received a suspended 18 month sentence:
Judge Richard S. Bernhardt sentenced Montague to 18 months in jail, with all of that jail time suspended. Montague will be put on probation for two years, must complete 100 hours of community service, cannot have any contact with the girl and no unsupervised contact with any female under the age of 16, and is not allowed in or near any Earth Treks facility. He will not be required to register as a sex offender.
…snip…
Bernhardt said that there is no “one size fits all” approach for cases, contrasting the case against Montague with that of Michael J. Lyons, a 31-year-old Rockville man and former head climbing coach at Earth Treks. Lyons, who also worked at the Columbia facility, pleaded guilty last week to having sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl, who was the victim in both cases and has since turned 15.
Let this be a warning to anyone that see’s an adult (31) acting inappropriately around children, and at 14 she is still a child. It is not like this is a total shock, plenty of random posts about the behavior of certain individuals that is or was suspect. People need to speak up when they see unacceptable behavior rather than brush it off. This includes owners, fellow workers, other parents, etc.. This will never be totally prevented but the signs are almost always there ahead of time. The message is speak up if you are a responsible adult……
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Narc, I think the focus, especially in light of the holiday season, should be on the new expansion that just opened up at Earth Treks Rockville, making it the largest climbing gym in the country! (by total climbing surface area, not floor area)
http://tinyurl.com/7gzqaut
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To me the focus, in light of the severity of these crimes, should be more on this situation than it has been actually. This type of situation has the potential to affect a lot more kids than any gym expansion.
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Tyler, earth treks is lucky that a civil suit has not been filed, yet. Owning a facility in which you supervise kids and expanding it in light of the circumstances will make it hard to claim poverty later….
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In no way do I advocate the behavior of these men – but someone needs to get this “little girl” some help. Clearly she saw herself as being mature enough to handle relations with these men and encouraged the behavior multiple times. While she is still, legally, a child, she is old enough to know the difference between appropriate and inappropriate. No one has yet said anything about her hypersexualized behavior and her purposefully evoking inappropriate responses from these men.Teenage girls are not what they once were. She knew exactly what she was doing, regardless of the consequences. I personally think she should be removed from the climbing team altogether.
Again, there is no excuse as to why these grown men couldn’t exercise a little self control, but she certainly did not help the situation. While Mike (and the other kid) are total idiots for even remotely entertaining this girl – her lack of self esteem, self respect, morals and values have ruined Mike’s life.
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Mike’s choices ruined Mike’s life.
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but this tween needs help.
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Very, very correct.
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friend of a friend- why in the world would you even bring up the 14 yr. old? she’s clearly lacking of guidance and self esteem. this makes her a target for pedophiles. and unfortunately, a couple found her.
now, tell me again why you’re making excuses for a 31 yr. old who had sex with a 14 yr. old?
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Quoting Friend of a Friend “there is no excuse as to why these grown men couldn’t exercise a little self control”
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One of the subtle issues here is that ET fills out slots on the team not based on demonstrated proficiency, but on gym capacity. Thus, with 3 gyms the raw ability on the elite team varies dramatically. So, no excuses for Mike but just appreciate that the victim was looking for attention and not exactly up to the standards of some of the other kids (natioanlly ranked). Lousy position for a kid with self-esteem problems…..
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Today, the coach was sentenced to 15yrs with all but 4yrs suspended, less time served, which at present has been just over 7 months. Upon his release he’ll be on 5yrs unsupervised probation. He’ll also be a Tier 3 registered sex offender for the rest of his life. He does have the option to appeal the sentence and also have it reviewed by a three judge panel. Upon the conclusion of the sentencing he was lead back to jail in leg and handcuffs.
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Correction: 5yrs “supervised” probation
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