Pleon Yacht Club, a Marblehead nonprofit that runs summer sailing programs for kids and teenagers, said in a Friday morning email that a former program director was arrested last week in Virginia on a child pornography charge dating to November 2022.
Kieran O’Connell, who oversaw Pleon’s summer programs in 2020 and 2021, was arrested Sunday in Saluda, Virginia, and charged with one count of possession of child pornography, the Pleon’s Board members David Romagnoli and Celia Dressel wrote in a statement.
“We have been in contact with the appropriate sheriff’s office in Virginia,” Dressel and Romagnoli wrote. “The sheriff’s investigator has informed us that, while their investigation still continues, there is no reason to believe that any Pleon sailors or employees, past or present, are related to this matter.”
O’Connell’s two most recent employers — Christchurch School in Virginia and the Sandy Bay Yacht Club in Rockport — also have been told that none of their students or staff is involved, Pleon said.
“We are sharing this note with our community out of an abundance of caution and to inform you that we will continue to remain vigilant as it relates to the welfare of our sailors and employees,” Dressel and Romagnoli wrote in their statement.
In a separate statement to the Marblehead Current on Friday afternoon, Sandy Bay Yacht Club Commodore Sarah Wilkinson acknowledged the arrest of the former SBYC sailing director.
“I was stunned by this development,” Wilkinson said. “Neither I, nor anyone else at SBYC, had any inkling of the potential criminal conduct involved here.”
Wilkinson stated that by working closely with law enforcement, SBYC confirmed the investigation targeted only the former director and not any other SBYC employees. She also expressed relief in learning no SBYC students or staff, past or present, were associated with the alleged misconduct.
“The safety of our junior sailors is paramount,” Wilkinson emphasized. “We will continue to maintain vigilant hiring practices and unwavering oversight to ensure the utmost safety of our sailors.”
