We have zero tolerance for sexual abuse, molestation, sexual harassment, or misconduct of any kind. This policy explains what is prohibited, how to report it, and what we do about it.
1. Zero Tolerance & Who This Covers
- Rec Soccer maintains a zero-tolerance standard for sexual abuse, molestation, sexual assault, sexual harassment, and any other sexual misconduct. There is no warning step and no three-strike ladder for this conduct — a substantiated violation results in permanent removal from the platform and from all programs.
- This policy binds everyone connected to our programs: players, team captains, coaches, referees, facility staff, contractors, volunteers, spectators, and guests.
- It applies at every venue we use, on every trip to or from a match, in app chat and any other communication channel, and to off-platform conduct between participants that arises out of their involvement in our programs.
- Following this policy is a condition of participation. Declining to acknowledge it means you cannot participate.
2. Prohibited Conduct
- Sexual abuse or molestation — any sexual contact or sexual act with another person without that person's freely given consent, or with any person who is legally incapable of consenting, including any minor and any adult incapacitated by alcohol, drugs, disability, or unconsciousness.
- Sexual assault — any attempted or completed sexual act by force, threat, coercion, intimidation, or without consent. Consent must be affirmative and ongoing, and may be withdrawn at any time.
- Sexual harassment — unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, sexual comments about a person's body or appearance, sexual jokes or gestures, or other unwelcome conduct of a sexual nature, including when it creates an intimidating or hostile environment.
- Grooming — any pattern of behavior intended to build trust with a person in order to sexually exploit them, including isolating them, giving gifts or special treatment, or seeking private contact outside program channels.
- Sexual exploitation — recording, photographing, or sharing images of another person in a state of undress or during a sexual act without consent; voyeurism; indecent exposure; or possessing or distributing child sexual abuse material.
- Sexualized communication — sending sexual images, messages, or propositions to anyone who has not invited them, and any sexual communication whatsoever directed at a minor.
- Retaliation — any adverse action against a person who reports a concern in good faith, or who participates in an investigation.
3. Minors at Our Venues
- Rec Soccer is an adults-only platform. You must be at least 19 to hold an account or participate, and we do not register minors under any circumstance — there is no parental-consent path.
- Our venues are not adults-only. Several are city-owned, youth-oriented facilities that run children's programs at the same time as our adult leagues, and participants may bring their own children as spectators. The rules below exist because of that shared use.
- Do not initiate contact with an unaccompanied minor at a venue. If a child appears lost, distressed, or unsupervised, take them to facility staff — do not take them anywhere else and do not remain alone with them.
- Never be alone with a minor who is not your own child in a one-on-one, out-of-sight situation. Where any interaction with a minor is unavoidable, keep it in an open, observable area with another adult present.
- Do not enter youth program areas, youth locker rooms, or any space designated for children. Use only the changing and restroom facilities assigned to adult participants.
- Do not photograph or record minors. When taking team photos or match video, frame out anyone who is not a participant.
- Do not contact a minor you meet through a venue by phone, text, social media, or any other channel.
4. Screening & Eligibility
- Anyone serving in a position of authority or trust — referees, coaches, facility administrators, and staff — must complete a screening attestation before being approved for that role, and renew it annually.
- The attestation requires disclosure of any conviction, guilty plea, pending charge, civil finding, or program-level ban involving sexual misconduct, abuse or neglect of a child or vulnerable adult, violence, or an offense requiring sex offender registration.
- Any of the above is disqualifying from a position of authority. Registration as a sex offender in any jurisdiction is disqualifying from participation entirely.
- A role holder must notify us within 72 hours if any of these circumstances arise after they attest. Failing to disclose, or attesting falsely, is itself grounds for permanent removal.
- Where a background check is run, results are handled confidentially and retained separately from general profile data.
5. How to Report
- If anyone is in immediate danger, call 911 first. Reporting to us is never a substitute for calling law enforcement, and you do not need our permission or a completed internal review to contact police.
- To report suspected child abuse or neglect in Ohio, contact your county Public Children Services Agency or call the Ohio child abuse hotline at 855-642-4453 (855-O-H-CHILD), available 24/7.
- To report to us: use "Report" on any player profile or chat and choose a Safety category, or email safety@recsoccer.app. Facility staff and referees can also file an incident report in-app. Reports may be made anonymously.
- Report what you know — you do not need proof, certainty, or a complete picture. Do not investigate on your own, question the person involved, or confront the subject of a concern; that can compromise a criminal investigation.
- Anyone who is a mandated reporter under Ohio Rev. Code 2151.421 must make the report the law requires of them. This policy does not narrow that duty and nothing in it may be read to delay it.
- Reporting in good faith is protected. Retaliating against a reporter is a separate violation of this policy and is treated as seriously as the underlying conduct.
6. How We Respond
- Safety reports are routed to a priority queue that is reviewed on receipt, separately from routine chat moderation.
- On any report alleging abuse, molestation, or sexual misconduct we immediately suspend the reported account and remove that person from all scheduled activity pending review. Suspension is a protective measure, not a finding.
- We report to law enforcement and, where a minor is involved, to the appropriate child protective agency. We cooperate fully with their investigation and defer to it — we do not run a parallel internal investigation that could interfere.
- We notify our insurer and the facility owner as their agreements require.
- We preserve all related records — reports, messages, rosters, schedules, and incident logs — and suspend any routine deletion that would otherwise reach them.
- A substantiated violation results in permanent removal from the platform and a permanent ban from all programs and venues.
7. Confidentiality & Records
- Reports are shared only with the people who need them to respond: our safety reviewers, law enforcement or child protective services, our insurer, the facility owner, and counsel.
- We do not disclose a reporter's identity to the person they reported. We cannot promise absolute confidentiality where the law requires disclosure or where it is necessary to protect someone.
- Safety records are retained for at least 3 years, and longer where a claim, investigation, or litigation hold is open. These records survive account deletion — a deletion request does not erase them.
8. Acknowledgment
- By acknowledging this policy, you confirm that you have read and understood it, that you agree to follow it, and that you agree to report conduct that violates it.
- You confirm that you are not currently required to register as a sex offender in any jurisdiction and that you have not been removed or banned from another sports organization for abuse, molestation, or sexual misconduct.