Parents should ask kids about contact with Kaplan
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By the Lincoln Journal Star
Longtime soccer coach Sanford Kaplan, who was charged Thursday with child abuse and false imprisonment, has had contact with thousands of kids over the years, said Lancaster County Sheriff Terry Wagner.
While officials believe the vast majority of them were not victimized, Wagner said his office has gotten a lot of calls from parents wondering if their sons could have been victimized and unsure how to proceed.
The sheriff said his office doesn’t have enough people to interview every child Kaplan coached, so they need parents to help by talking to their kids.
Questions they should ask include:
* Were you ever alone in Kaplan’s home?
* Were you ever asked to do something that made you uncomfortable or were you ever placed in an unusual situation?
* Were you ever asked to play a game in which you were restrained or tied up?
* Were you ever offered unusual articles of clothing?
* Were comments made that made you feel uncomfortable?
* Are you aware of anyone else whom Kaplan made uncomfortable?
If children answer yes to some of those questions, or if parents have noticed dramatic changes in their child’s behavior after a trip to Kaplan’s house, sheriff’s investigators want to talk to them if possible, Wagner said.
“If something seems not right, they (parents) need to explore that a little more,” he said.
Wagner asked that they call criminal investigations at 441-7725.
He said parents should be sure to stress that, if something did happen, it wasn’t the boys’ fault.
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