By Dan Murphy
“I am pleased that the United States Department of Justice is putting the full weight of the federal government behind the effort to stop Jimmy Collis’ sexual predation of children. His horrific abuse has now spanned over six decades. If the Village of Mount Kisco and Boys & Girls Club of Mount Kisco had acted sooner, his abuse of children would have ended years ago,”
-Gregory Ardanowski, an alleged sexual abuse victim of Collins.
By Dan Murphy
The arrest of James, “Jimmy” Collins by the FBI last month has ended what his 16 alleged victims say was a “horror story” of sex abuse with Collins while they were ages 11-17.
Collins was arrested twice in 2023. Once for paying for sex with an underage boy -15-in the bathroom of the Chappaqua Library, (he later admitted to doing so to police).
While Collins was out on bail, Collins attempted to meet the same victim again, but this time an undercover officer was on Snapchat with him. Collins was arrested at the library and is now behind bars.
But four years ago, multiple plaintiffs and victims of Collins abuse filed lawsuits in Westchester County Supreme Court. The suits, filed in 2020, were permitted under the New York’s Child Victims Act.
Collins is a named defendant, along with the Village/Town of Mt. Kisco, and the Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester, and the Chappaqua Central School District. Collins worked in different capacities, as a coach, camp counselor, camp director, lifeguard and cafeteria monitor for the named defendants over the course of more than 20 years.
The suits allege, repeated acts of sexual abuse, sexual harassment and sexual exploitation committed by Defendant James Collins (“Collins”) against multiple young boys who were entrusted to his care. At all relevant times, Collins was acting in his capacity as an employee, agent and representative of at least one of Defendants.
In one complaint, the John Doe victim alleges that Collins sexually abused him when he was 11 years old. “Plaintiff was approximately eleven years old to fourteen years old during the time Collins sexually abused, harassed, and exploited him. The incidents alleged in this Complaint occurred in and around 1982 to in and around 1986, when Plaintiff participated in camps, town sports and/or attended schools in Mt. Kisco, New York.
“Defendant Collins sexually abused, harassed and exploited Plaintiff on, and around the following locations: (i) Camp Iroquois at Leonard Park in Mt. Kisco, (ii) Camp Iroquois at Leonard Park Pool in Mt. Kisco and (iii) Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester (previously known as the Boys’ Club), as well as out-of-state in New Hampshire,” the suit alleges..
From the complaints: “Incidents alleged herein occurred on the property of Camp Defendants and BGC where Defendant Collins was working, at various times as a coach, counselor, mentor and supervisor and therefore possessed care, control, and had unfettered access to minor male children.
“Indeed, what transpired with dozens of children, including Plaintiff, from the 1970s through the 1990s throughout Mt. Kisco and surrounding towns is something out of a long-running horror story,” according to the complaints.
These Plaintiffs also allege: “Typical of most pedophiles, Collins targeted boys from broken homes, single-parent households and/or those that were otherwise vulnerable and susceptible to grooming by giving them special attention, preferential treatment, taking them to sporting events, buying them treats, candy, and/or plying them with alcohol. These warning signs, grooming behaviors, inappropriate time spent alone with Plaintiff and not respecting boundaries with children were ignored by Entity Defendants, thus, creating the opportunity for abuse, resulting in failures to enforce proper boundaries and, instead, allowing Collins access to abuse children, including Plaintiff.”
The suits allege that Collins “proceeded to sexually harass, abuse and exploit multiple young boys, including, but not limited to, massaging their bodies, fondling their bodies and genitals, masturbating the boys to ejaculation, orally copulating boys, forcing boys to orally copulate Collins, forcing boys to masturbate Collins, forcing boys to unknowingly consume his semen in beverages, and forcing boys to masturbate in his presence.
“More specifically, upon information and belief, Plaintiff alleges that several employees of BGC witnessed and/or knew of Collins’ grooming and/or sexual misconduct towards children, including BGC employees who oversaw the swimming facilities, the secretary for BGC, and the BGC director of athletics.
“More specifically, upon information and belief, Plaintiff alleges that Collins had been arrested and/or charged for sexual misconduct; however, certain individuals within the Bedford Hills Police Department (“BHPD”) assisted Collins in avoiding public scrutiny for these charges.
Collins has continued to maintain access to children, including with his roles as a janitor and bus driver at Cedar Knolls School in Hawthorne.
A different lawsuit by another victim claims that Collins met him when he was 7, which was when he began to groom John Doe at little league and bowling practice-games, by going to the movies, and watching pornographic movies in the basement of BCG.
“Thereafter, on at least four to six occasions, Collins would force five or six boys at the BGC, including Plaintiff RCVAWCD-DOE, to undress and masturbate in the BGC pool, in front of Collins. Collins would often undress and masturbate as well, in the presence of these minor boys, including Plaintiff RCVAWCD-DOE.
“On at least one occasion, Collins took a ruler to each of the boys’ penises, touching each boy’s penis, for an accurate measurement.”
Collins convinced some of the boys to have oral sex with him, according to the allegations in the lawsuits.
One of the named Plaintiffs, James M., alleges in his suit that the abuse by Collins started when he was 14 years old in 1974 and continued to 1978, when James was a lifeguard at Leonard Park Pool at Leonard Park during the summers and Collins was his supervisor.
He also alleges:“Collins would pull down his own shorts and make James pull down his shorts. Collins would then proceed to masturbate and force James to masturbate, as well. In doing so, Collins would fondle and stroke James’s penis and force James to do the same to Collins’ penis.
“Collins would also reach over and masturbate James’s penis and make James masturbate Collins’ penis, including mutual masturbation to ejaculation. Collins’ masturbation of James’s penis and Collins’ forcing of James to masturbate Collins’ penis occurred on multiple occasions in the locker room of Leonard Park Pool.
“There were often other adult employees working for the Town, Camp and Leonard Park during the timeframes that Collins was abusing and exploiting James at the pagoda and in the lifeguard locker room.”
James’ complaint also alleges that, after going to a WWE event in New York City, Collins got James drunk and took him back to his home. “Collins made James give Collins oral sex and Collins performed oral sex on James. Then, Collins turned James over and sodomized James.”
After the lawsuits were all filed in 2020 and 2021, Collins was not arrested or charged until the fall of 2023, and then the subsequent arrest by the Feds, and the announcement of Collins arrest by US Attorney Damian Williams on Jan. 24.
“Collins, 67, who resides in Bedford Hills, was charged with enticing a minor to engage in unlawful sexual activity and with sexual exploitation of a minor. The incident for which Collins was charged by the Feds occurred on November 7, 2023, when Collins attempted to persuade an individual acting in an undercover capacity and posing as a 15-year-old boy to meet the defendant in Westchester County, for the purpose of engaging in sexual activities.
“From at least on or about September 16, 2023, up to and including at least on or about November 7, 2023, COLLINS, who used the Snapchat username “jimc20237221,” persuaded a 17-year-old minor in Illinois to engage in sexually explicit activity and send COLLINS videos and photos of such activity.
“Collins was caught after a 15-year-old boy told the New Castle Police Department that he engaged in sex with Collins in the bathroom of the Chappaqua library in July 2023. The boy was paid $200 by Collins for sex, and the boy picked Collins from a photo.
“The boy then allowed the New Castle police permission to use his Snapchat account to contact Collins. On Nov. 7, a detective set up a time to “meet” Collins in the library bathroom again. Collins was arrested but was out on bail when he was arrested by the Feds for his online interactions with an underage boy in Illinois, who Collins was asking for videos and photos of the boy engaging in sexually explicit activity.
“According to an affidavit from an FBI agent, “COLLINS, who is 67 years old, told Detective-I that, several months ago, he had met an individual in the bathroom at Library-I and engaged in sexual behavior including kissing, touching and mutual masturbation, and that that same individual had sent him a message that day and wanted to meet again in the bathroom.” A search of Collins phone found additional photographs and videos of boys as young as 10 years old.
“Collins is the owner of Jimmy’s bar in Katonah. He now faces 30 years in prison if convicted.
“Anyone who may have encountered COLLINS or whose child may have had any communications with COLLINS is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).” End of US Attorney release.
Through his attorney, Saul Wolf, we received the following statement from Gregory Ardanowski, one of Collins’ alleged victims, when asked What is your response to Collins arrest?
“I am pleased that the United States Department of Justice is putting the full weight of the federal government behind the effort to stop Jimmy Collis’ sexual predation of children. His horrific abuse has now spanned over six decades. If the Village of Mount Kisco and Boys & Girls Club of Mount Kisco had acted sooner, his abuse of children would have ended years ago,” said Gregory Ardanowski, an alleged sexual abuse victim of Collins.
We asked Wolf, whose firm Manly, Stewart & Finaldi, represents 15 of the alleged victims, how does the arrest of Collins relate to your cases?
“I place the blame for this tragedy squarely on the Village of Mt. Kisco, The Boys & Girls Club of Northern Westchester and the Chappaqua Central School District for ignoring complaints and warning signs of sexual abuse against Collins that began decades ago. This is why more than 15 lawsuits were filed against these defendants. I expect the number of survivors to increase as more of Collins’ current victims come forward.
The question that all should ask after reading this is—how did Collins get away with this and how did the abuse go unreported?
Wolf said, “As we allege in the cases, it was not only reported, it was witnessed. The complaints allege that “several employees of the Town witnessed and/or knew of Collins’ grooming and/or sexual misconduct towards children, including, but not limited to, law enforcement officers and other Town employees in the recreation department.”
Why did most of us in Westchester not hear about the lawsuits, and alleged abuse allegations against Collins? Wolf said, “COVID put a hold on most cases filed under the CVA.”
When we posted this story online last week, a reader posted, “everyone knows about Jimmy Collins.”
Turns out this reader grew up with Jimmy Collins in the Bedford Hills-Mt. Kisco area. “We went to Mets games together with the Mt. Kisco little league. I was 13 and he was a few years older, hanging out in the bathroom at the stadium instead of watching the game. And that was more than 40 years ago.”
Anyone who may have encountered COLLINS or whose child may have had any communications with COLLINS is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).
According to the Westchester DA’s office, “The defendant, James Collins, was arrested by the New Castle Police Department on Nov. 7, 2023, and charged with Criminal Sex Act in the Third Degree, a felony. Bail was set at $7,500 cash/$15,000 bond/$20,000 PSB. The state case is pending in New Castle Justice Court and the defendant is scheduled to appear next on Feb. 22.”
The federal case against Collins is pending in the SDNY, Federal Courthouse in White Plains. Further proceedings in the Federal case, filed by the United States Attorney’s Office are scheduled for the spring.
