By Brooke Naylor
Mark “Ogre” Birchette sits in the courtroom waiting to see the man he thinks is a coward.
He thinks all child abusers are cowards, and he”s not the only one. Birchette and his “family” of bikers wear the same anti-child abuse patch on the back of their leather jackets, and their hearts on their sleeves.
They”re BACA, Bikers Against Child Abuse. And if you”re a child abuser, they”re coming for you.
Birchette and his “family” say they would die for the children they have pledged to protect. When they”re not in the courtroom, they”re on their motorcycles, sometimes riding more than 70 strong. Together their growling engines and rumbling exhausts can be heard from blocks away and they shake the ground like an earthquake as they ride through neighborhoods on one of their interventions, or “ride-bys.”
They”re teachers and attorneys, construction workers and newspaper editors. Some are fathers or mothers; some are sons or daughters. Some were once victims themselves. All, however, consider each other family — a family working for one purpose.
BACA, is a nationwide non-profit organization founded by BYU part-time professor John Paul “Chief” Lilly in 1996. With more than 100 chapters nationwide, in 30 states, and 4 chapters in Australia, BACA was established to fill in the gaps that Lilly, as a therapist, found in the legal system for children who are victims of child abuse.
According to the BACA Web site, BACA could help by “providing for the safety of the children and providing funding for their therapy.”
Since its establishment in 1996, it has helped almost 900 children in the Utah Valley area alone.
As their theme, BACA members say they “are dedicated to the principle that one of the basic rights of childhood is to be safe and protected, and when the child”s family and environment have failed them, [BACA members] stand ready to provide it to them.”
BACA does whatever the child needs, whether that be sitting in the court with them to help comfort them, taking them to the store because they are too scared to go alone, or sitting outside their house at night so they can get a good night”s sleep.
“What we do, we do for the kids,” said Horace Montoya, a biker for nearly 40 years and former president of Sun Downers, another motorcycle club. “We are grateful if we can just help one [child].”
BACA is based completely off volunteer work and receives money from donations and selling memorabilia. When it first began, BACA”s Therapy Assistance Fund received a large donation from former BYU football player Steve Young to help establish the organization. BACA is currently seeking funding from the Department of Justice, but members say they”re having difficulty breaking down the stigmas put on bikers.
With the money the organization obtains, BACA pays for the children in their program to receive therapy or attend any programs that would benefit the child, based on personal evaluations.
With all their hard work and devotion, BACA members still see hard times themselves.
“People have lost their jobs and their homes because of the dedication to the children,” Lilly said. Many members use much of their own money to accomplish their goals.
Birchette said he goes to the courtroom almost every day to follow a case or help out a child.
“It gets really hard when you sit with a child because they”re too afraid to get a good night”s sleep and then the next day the judge orders visitation to the parents that have been making the child so afraid,” Lilly said.
For many BACA members, however, the moments of good outweigh all the heartbreak and sacrifice.
“When the children hear us coming you should see their faces light up,” member Pam Montoya said. “They know someone is coming that they can trust. No words can express what we do until you see a kid”s face when we visit.”
BACA also gives hope to many being helped and helping out.
“I lost my own child in a motorcycle accident about a year ago,” Birchette said. “If it wasn”t for BACA, I wouldn”t ride.”
Despite what Pam Montoya calls “an upward battle,” BACA members have sworn to help the children, and that is an oath they intend to keep. As long as children are in need of their help, BACA members will continue to ride loudly and proudly with their back patches as a warning for all child abusers to see.
