StandUp For Kids founder Richard Koca's child-sex-assault bust: Maybe more victims, cops fear

    There is a large piece to this puzzle that I believe many of you have overlooked, although not many can be expected to see these things.  Before I say anything further, I would like to say that I'm not a mental health professional.  The information I'm sharing is from a plethora of personal experience relating to the affliction that I believe this man meets the definition for.

    With that being said, I believe that this man is a psychopath.  Most psychopaths are rarely exposed for what they are, and most don't commit gruesome murders or violent attacks.

    The reasons I say this are as follows:

1)  His Picture - While this alone is not enough to diagnose someone and, admittedly, it is only a small cross-section of what he would normally look like, there are details here that give him away.  The look he has on his face is not one of remorse or fear, but contempt.  His eyes express little emotion, and his face is twisted in such a way to suggest he's disgusted that anyone would challenge his name.  On the other hand, he may rightfully be innocent, and is thus disgusted that he'd be accused in such a manner.

2)  Psychopaths are drawn to positions of power in order to fulfill the machinations in their minds that tell them they are the best at anything and everything they do.  His continued work in this field and the fact that he had never been suspected or caught previously suggests that he is able to seamlessly lie and cover himself.  Psychopaths don't resist their urges for very long.

3)  Psychopaths are often interested in engaging in sex with children, but not for the reason you may think.  They crave novelty to quell the horrible boredom that their lives consist of.  The fact that child molestation is considered to be so deviant is the source of his excitement for the act.  Additionally, the fact that the victim was male adds to the deviancy because of the antiquated views of homosexuality that persist today.

4)  hopeforvictims mentioned that he/she worked for this man for a period of time.  It was mentioned that he had very little respect for boundaries, and often acted inappropriately.  This disrespect for social norms or physical boundaries is characteristic of the personality disorder that I believe he may meet the requirements of.

5)  stormtrance mentioned that he would never suspect this from the man accused.  This suggests an ability to hide his intentions for the most part.

All of this is not even close to enough to give an actual diagnosis of any kind, so take it with a grain of salt.  To those who said that it is wrong to question the child accusing someone of molestation, that is how justice works.

How can you suggest that we should just take the word of ANY accuser at face value with no real investigation?

Suppose a child accused you of molestation when you've done nothing of the sort?

This could all go one way or the other, but my feeling is that this man is guilty and may fall on the scale of psychopathy.

how ridiculous would it be for me to say, I'm a woman that has been acquainted with a particular man- he did not make a pass at ME- therefore he is not interested in adult women. In the same way, just because you were a kid or teen that knew this guy and was not molested , does not mean he was not a pedophile. He apparently had a large choice of victims, he could target ones particularly to his liking. Even Sandusky did not molest EVERY kid that came into his charity.  From what I've seen, men that dedicate their life to "helping children" are usually helping themselves to the children.

I volunteered for Mr. Koca a bit between 2008 and 2010. I met his daughters and grand daughters as well. I have to say, he was sort of inappropriately flirty with me when training, but I was not a kid; I was in my thirties. Because of that, I really didn't trust him: he was unprofessional and ignored my boundaries. I've met so many men like that, I didn't think much of it. I just kept my distance and reserved my trust.  

From my perspective, he seemed to bond better with male kids on the street and made lifetime connections with a few. Also, he has both blond and brunnette daughters and grand daughters and, to me, the blonds seemed confident and solid, accomplished people. It was a stark contrast with the brunettes, who seemed unconfident, overweight, and shy. I don't mean to make fun of any of his family, they were all lovely people. It's just the contrast was stark and sometimes people's predation takes paths like this. I wonder if this person in his trust was his grand daughter and I wonder if she is brunnette. Whoever it is, she is very likely telling the truth unless she was abused by someone else and is hanging him for it so to speak. And whomever she is, I hope very much she uses all resources and loving, trusting adults to help her through the pain and suffering. It's a very difficult recovery.

Sexual abuse it difficult. It may very well be Mr. Koca was a victim and that's why he started this whole organization to help street kids. I have to say too that he DID help a lot of kids. But it is true that he did not work with street kids since I met him in 2008 at least not here in Denver. He stayed in touch with a few kids he really bonded with and hired some to run the organization, but he was not walking the streets. Hundreds of volunteers were doing this work, good work, without his interaction with the kids. Some of these videos are of the kids he bonded with and some might be him doing outreach (interacting) with the kids just for the video or photoshoot. Almost all of the videos were filmed in San Diego and are from before 2008. Sometimes he would interact with kids during training, but for us, we couldn't find any when we were trained her in Denver. He, however, did work with street kids here in Denver in the early '90s; he started the organization in Denver, but it disbanded. It's very difficult to keep an all-volunteer organization running.

Also, many street kids know him and know of him. If he hurt any of them, they would tell each other and they would tell StandUp volunteers. They would not tell authorities. Street smarts like this often crosses state boundaries because the kids move back and forth between different climates. Mr. Koca knows this well. The kids I met thought well of him, but the police can find out a lot by interviewing former and current street kids. They should especially focus on kids in San Diego, he hasn't worked with kids here since the early 1990s.

BTW, the name is StandUp for Kids, but they mostly helped kids 18 to 25, the age kids run from abuse to the street or age out of foster care. Occassionally, we helped kids 12 to 17, but it was much more rare. Even though this legally doesn't seem like the definition of "kids", these kids have a difficult tranisition to early adulthood because of foster care and because many times they are developmentally younger due to the abuse or neglect and life on the streets.

I have a feeling that he kept this in the family. And I hope very much that his being in jail has saved a lot of kids from this future and him from not being able to control his predatory behavior. We are all safe with him behind bars with the very likelihood that his victim is telling the truth.

Also, he may be predatory, but he is not an evil man. If he helped you or someone you know or if StandUp helped you or someone you know, his predation discounts none of it. He did good things for a lot of people and that he grew the organization beyond him, in states across the country, says to me that he meant to spread the love, not the predation. Although I could very well be wrong!

I know Rick personally. He hired me to work for SUFK a few years back and personally trained me. No one can know for sure if this is true or not, and while I have NEVER, EVER seen any signs that would point to this type of behavior, I truly hope that everyone will reserve judgement until the actual facts are presented. This could all be a huge mistake and those that "assume" it's true because someone put it in the paper, and if it's not then those of us who knew him so well (I worked with him for a year every single day) will be very surprised. I, personally, will not judge a man no matter who he is until the FACTS are presented!

As a helpless kid who held onto a secret life of molestation because I just knew there was no way anyone would believe the person molested me, I feel sad that anyone could discredit a child reaching out for help. It took a lot of courage for a child to come forward especially knowing there would be a million people praising ricks glory. That man tried to kill himself for a reason, he knew he'd been found out and probably knew this was going to open the flood gates for many more innocent victims. He may not have done it to you or the person sitting next to you, they pick out few among many, it's what PEDAPHILES like RICK do. Oh, and for people to say someone did this for money, he made it clear in all his videos that he wasn't making money off of SUFK, he said it wasn't about the money. Unless you think he was lying about that and was secretly rich. Any of you who are parents, what would you do if your child came to you tomorrow and said Rick molested him, would you think your child was lying? Something to think about. I'm sure he touched a lot of peoples lives but sadly he touched more than just lives.

My name is Gary D Pearson, I am a former United States Marine. I am currently married to one of the street kids that was helped by Rick Koca himself. I personally am devastated by these horrendous accusations brought forth. I cannot say that I know Rick personally, but I can say that I have heard many stories about this man. I do not believe that someone who has dedicated his entire life to helping homeless youth get their lives back on track could do such a thing. I must say that although he never helped me personally, I did receive help from his organization when I fell on hard times after I separated from the military. I do understand that his organization is named StandUp For Kids and I wasn't a kid when I received help from them. They didn't care what age, race, gender, ect. that you were they wanted to help. If I had the money or the means I would do more than I have already done to help. I have sent numerous emails to various people and organizations who i hope will help in spreading the word that these accusations are false and help clear the great name that is Rick Koca. I am deeply saddened  by the almost immediate public outrage  that has become of this. Our country is in a saddened state when "Innocent Until Proven Guilty" is no longer the case. It has gone to the media that if they show it, it must be true. Now this beloved man who is the reason that thousands of people are having better lives will be permanently marked as a criminal whether he is or not.

I met Rick Koca many many years ago and I still accredit him for one of the main reasons that I am alive today. He saved me. Saved me from drugs. Saved me from the streets. Saved me from myself. He helped shaped me into the person that I am today. There is just no way that these horrendous accusations can be true. Rick only ever wanted to help kids and I seriously doubt he just woke up one day and decided that he was going to be a pedophile. There was never any "pattern of behavior". No warning signs. Nothing to suggest that he would ever hurt one of us. I was abused sexually by my uncle when I was little. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by my mother. I know the signs of abuse as do many of the "street kids" that rick helped. That he saved. Coming from abuse like we did ensures that we can spot an abuser a mile away and had Rick been that type of person one of us sure as heck would have known it. Rick stood up for me and so many of my friends so we are here to stand up for him. It makes me sick how people who don't even know him have already prejudge him. They have already condemned them in their living rooms. The media has had a hand in that. I am here to tell all of you that Rick is innocent. I am alive today because of this man. I have a loving husband and 4 wonderful children because this man saved me. I am a college student because this man saw to it that I got myself together. He is my friend. He is my confidant. He is just amazing person who obviously put himself out there and someone decided to take advantage of him in this horrific way. All of us former street kids love you Rick!!! We are here for you no matter what! @Brian Haslip @Tara Mccurry @Grover DeMuppet @Joseph Gubanyi @Michael Williams @Jamie Randolph @Julie 

I met Rick Koca many many years ago and I still accredit him for one of the main reasons that I am alive today. He saved me. Saved me from drugs. Saved me from the streets. Saved me from myself. He helped shaped me into the person that I am today. There is just no way that these horrendous accusations can be true. Rick only ever wanted to help kids and I seriously doubt he just woke up one day and decided that he was going to be a pedophile. There was never any "pattern of behavior". No warning signs. Nothing to suggest that he would ever hurt one of us. I was abused sexually by my uncle when I was little. I was physically, mentally, and emotionally abused by my mother. I know the signs of abuse as do many of the "street kids" that rick helped. That he saved. Coming from abuse like we did ensures that we can spot an abuser a mile away and had Rick been that type of person one of us sure as heck would have known it. Rick stood up for me and so many of my friends so we are here to stand up for him. It makes me sick how people who don't even know him have already prejudge him. They have already condemned them in their living rooms. The media has had a hand in that. I am here to tell all of you that Rick is innocent. I am alive today because of this man. I have a loving husband and 4 wonderful children because this man saved me. I am a college student because this man saw to it that I got myself together. He is my friend. He is my confidant. He is just amazing person who obviously put himself out there and someone decided to take advantage of him in this horrific way. 

I met Rick Koca when I was 12 years old and homeless. Him and his wife would come to the park every Thursday and bring us hot soup and fresh socks. Rick did nothing but help people. If you knew him you would know that these heinous accusations are impossible. I have spoken to at least 20 other friends since this happened, who all knew Rick when we were young and in our most vulnerable situations, and the response is the same across the board ..Yeah right, there is no doubt that he's innocent.. The way I see it going down is Rick put himself in a vulnerable situation while going out of his way to help someone and they took advantage of him. It's almost laughable how impossible this accusation is except there is nothing funny about one of the most genuinely kind, caring, and stand up men I have ever met having his life ruined by some idiot trying make a buck.

I have personally known Rick for over a decade. He is one of the kindest, most compassionate, and genuinely GOOD human beings I have ever met. My first thought upon hearing the heinous crimes Rick has been accused  was "someone must have been trying to extort money out of him". In my mind there is absolutely no possible way these charges could be true. I do not know the details of the charges he is facing, however I know Rick very well, and he is NOT a sexual predator. Rick dedicated his entire life to helping homeless youth survive and pull themselves off of the streets. He helped spread awareness about homeless teenagers and rape, working day and night to keep kids all over the country safe. This was his life’s passion. He has a heart of gold, and I am nothing short of heartbroken that one (or more) people would destroy this amazing man's life with such insane allegations. I have received a flood of phone calls and messages since this story broke, all from my friends who knew Rick. These friends are all people I met at Stand up for kids, a San Diego homeless youth center I visited during a particularly dark period of my life. I have probably talked to two dozen people regarding Rick, and let me tell you this: not a single person thought for one second this could possibly be true. Our immediate group response was “how can we help him?.” None of us have a shadow of doubt in our minds-and as former street kids we are a pretty cynical breed. I’ve seen my friends bury long-standing personal grudges which each other, just to talk about Rick and discuss how we can help him. The reason why is…well 95% of us are not street kids anymore. We have houses, jobs, self-esteem, sobriety, and all the hope in the world now, because Rick helped us find ourselves. He believed in us when no one else did. He changed our lives so much. Rick’s vision, Stand Up for Kids, was more than a drop in center. Sure, they gave us clothes, food and toiletries. We got to pick through donated clothes and watch tv. That was the second best thing about Stand Up. The best part was Rick, the counselors and staff. They treated us like we were family, for a few hours every weekday, and gave us the emotional support we needed and the strength to keep forging on with hope for our future. We had all the love in the world when we were at the Center. AND IT WAS IN NO WAY SEXUAL. Rick is a champion. He has served our country, abroad and at home, his entire life. I am honored to know Rick, and nothing short of videotape evidence could ever make me believe these lies. I have faith that the truth will be made public, and the people who turned their back on Rick over this absurdity will be eternally ashamed that they turned their back on Rick during his most undeserved darkest hour.

I am standing up for Rick just as he stood up for me as a child. I met Rick with Stand-Up when I was 13 years old. I knew saw him on a weekly basis for while I was a homeless child for 6 years. I was an attractive young female (aged 13-19) who had been "alone" with Rick more times then I can remember. He NEVER once made any sort of inappropriate move, gesture, or comment toward me or anyone I have ever known. All of the street kids I grew up with had all been abused, either physically, emotionally, and/or sexually. Once there are enough victims grouped together like that you tend to look out for each other, and also become very close and know each others pain and stories. An abused child can see the abuse in another child in a matter of seconds. We would have seen or heard of something like this. If Rick was a "Bad Man" we would have smelled it on him. This is a horrible end for a man who did so many amazing things, not only for me, but for every homeless child I have ever met! I am an amazingly successful person today because of Rick and the countless other selfless volunteers of Stand Up. And as a side note to any journalists who may be reading this... There is another side to this story, our side. Print it please. Street kids that have been positively impacted by Rick are everywhere in this country.

blackroseMD1 and CubCarrier: Would you feel the same way if - as a minor child, you had been sexually assaulted by a person of trust and nobody believed you? Pedophiles count on those they DIDN'T abuse to testify to their good character. And I don't think anyone has said who this victim is, because of age (someone under the age of 18), or that the contact came through SUFK. For all you know, it could've been a neighbor or a family member or the child of a friend. Don't be so quick to demonize the victim - or if you really were helped by this organization - remember what it was like for you when you were powerless. I promise you, that's where this kid was until the police got involved.

My name is Amanda Connelly and i was among the many homeless youth who accessed services through Stand Up 4 Kids in San Diego, California.

While on my facebook i saw this depressing news on a fellow friend's post... I am outraged at the accusations of Rick.

Rick is an individual who had a dream, made it a reality, and has helped and/or saved many of our youth throughout many generations.

Rick has saved countless kids from drugs, prostitution, gang violence, domestic abuse, and starvation. This is the most ridiculous allegation anyone could bring against him. I guarantee no one else comes forward about this because it's never happened, to anyone! Someone, somewhere stands to gain substantially for attempting to defame this mans character and/or destroy the credibility of the non-profit he created. I know he could never do this. He saved the lives of me and countless others, and no perversions were ever committed against us. I stand by Rick whole heartedly!

.@OldNumberSix @opliberation1 if only this was surprising

Volunteered for StandUp on and off for years.  The mission is worthy and the volunteers are outstanding - Rick always gave me the creeps.  We'll see how this unfolds.

This is bull. Rick Koca helped me for 6 years when I was 15-21 and never once made any kind of move on any of us homeless youth in San Diego. Whoever made this allegation is going to be in serious trouble.