7/27/2019 Crystal Lake Babe Ruth Baseball Response to charges against a former volunteer

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October 1, 2013

Crystal Lake Babe Ruth Baseball Response to charges against a former

volunteer

The Board of the Crystal Lake Babe Ruth Baseball League is individually and as an

organization upset and shocked by the news that Marc Sabo, a volunteer director

and manager with the league, faces charges of possessing child pornography on his

personal computer. These charges are based on activities that occurred during hisown personal and private time.

These alleged activities did not involve CLBR property or equipment and did not

expose any CLBR athletes, based on our knowledge of the ongoing investigation.

The CLBR has a 53-year record of offering athletes a safe and nurturing

environment to practice and polish their baseball skills and we will continue to be a

community leader in developing future athletes.

While Marc Sabos private matter is played out in court, we have retained attorney

and former county prosecutor Bill Bligh to follow the case and we pledge to keepour stakeholders abreast of developments, if they are relevant to the activities and

athletes in our league.

Mr. Bligh has contacted law enforcement and we have no preliminary indication that

the photographs in question depict players or any local youth. During Marcs tenure,

we have not been aware of complaints against him related to any of these charges.

No one on our board had any knowledge or reports of inappropriate interactions

between Marc Sabo and athletes.

Immediately after being charged, the Crystal Lake Babe Ruth League revoked Marcs

positions and he was barred from having contact with athletes and the league itself.

Since its inception, the Crystal Lake Babe Ruth League has had long-standing and

strong policies to protect our athletes during games and practices, and we had no

knowledge that those policies were violated.

We comply with Babe Ruth League national standards on criminal and sex offender

background checks for anyone directly involved with players.

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To ensure our standards keep pace with the latest practices, we have asked Mr.

Bligh to review and suggest ways to make our policies even stronger, with the

understanding no entity can control what volunteers choose to do on their own

personal and private time.

Crystal Lake Babe Ruth Baseball has a 53-year history of providing thousands ofkids with the chance to practice and improve their baseball skills. The leadership of

our non-profit organization is proud of the dedicated families, volunteers and

sponsors who love baseball and value the role of team sports in building strong

minds and communities. We will work to continue to strengthen that commitment

to our community for years to come.

Sincerely,

Rick Reilly

President, Crystal Lake Babe Ruth Baseball