CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police say a volunteer with the “Big Brothers, Big Sisters” program has been arrested for sexually assaulting a child he mentored. Β
Investigators say Ryan Hill has been charged with ten counts of indecent liberties with a minor and eight counts of statutory sex offense.
The 16-year-old victim told police he was enrolled at the “Big Brothers, Big Sisters” program since he was 12-years-old and the abuse happened over the last two years.
“Big Brothers, Big Sisters” released the following statement:
Big Brothers Big Sisters has a zero tolerance policy toward abuse or exploitation of any kind. We were saddened and deeply concerned to learn of the arrest of an individual who was affiliated with our organization as a volunteer.
Big Brothers Big Sisters makes child safety our priority. Β Our volunteers and staff undergo thorough screening and background checks. Big Brothers Big Sistersβ professional mentoring support staff have ongoing and regular communication with volunteers, mentees and their families and are trained to immediately make law enforcement and child protective services authorities aware of any reports of abuse or exploitation and fully cooperate with any investigation into such reports.
Big Brothers Big Sisters is a national leader among youth-serving organizations in child protection, with systems developed in consultation with experts from the Centers for Disease Control, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and the Nonprofit Risk-Management Center. Β The integrity of our program is extremely important and to achieve the highest quality standards possible, we work to constantly review and strengthen our screening and background check systems. Β
