MAP Forum

WALLINGFORD, CT- A case that has been under the radar was recently brought to Law Enforcement Today’s attention and is extremely disturbing. According to OnStage Blog, a theatre company based in this southern Connecticut community is facing a lawsuit alleging grooming and sexual abuse of a young performer who joined the group as a child in 2007.

The lawsuit, filed in Connecticut Superior Court, alleges that the group’s co-founders–Jared Brown and Patrick Laffin–invited minors to their home for overnight gatherings, provided alcohol to the children, and carried out “repeated acts of sexual assault.”

The artistic director at Roxy’s Downtown Theatre, Inc. publicly announced his resignation amid controversy that’s surrounded the arrest of a former cast member for child sex crimes.

Wichita police records show 32-year-old Cody S. LaCrone, confirmed to have been in productions at Roxy’s, was booked into the Sedgwick County Jail on Nov. 21 for crimes that included sexual exploitation of a child and aggravated indecent liberties with a child younger than 16.

In a public statement, Bumgardner, posting on the Roxy’s Downtown Facebook page, said that in a production six months ago, he “gave an actor a second chance” after several other actors expressed concerns “about his behavior being predatory.”