DENHAM SPRINGS — Frustrated and sad, but not surprised. That’s how one Denham Springs father described Ricky Foster’s arrest. UWK first reported Foster’s arrest April 1.
The man spoke to UWK on the condition of anonymity, saying he was part of the original “Dads of Denham” group with Foster. He said members of the group eventually began to notice things weren’t adding up and started distancing themselves.
That’s when, he says, Foster created his own version: “Dads of Denham 2.0.”
“We kind of knew how Ricky was. We knew he liked to lie and things like that, not a big deal,” the dad told UWK, remembering the past.
He said the group regularly came together to cook jambalaya and meals for kids playing sports at Denham Springs High School. The goal was to provide support and positive role models for children who may not have had one.
“Y’all have people to talk to. Y’all have people that care about you. Y’all have people in the community looking out for you,” he said. “It was fun. We all got into it. But there were things that just didn’t line up. He would say something and always have an excuse. I told the guys, ‘That’s just typical Ricky Foster.’”
One example, he said, involved a supposed $25,000 donation for a new sound system at Denham Springs High’s football stadium. Foster allegedly told the group a wealthy woman wanted to remain anonymous and encouraged them to start getting estimates.
“We started calling some places and getting estimates for sound systems, seeing how much it would be to install them. But when we said we had this, this and this, we need to get this money so we can make it happen, that’s when he said, ‘Well, she hasn’t written me a check yet.’ It was always just one thing after another. I fully, 100%, do not believe he received that money. I think he was making the whole thing up.”
He added there was also an incident where Foster attempted to buy a Jeep from another member and wrote him a check.
“The woman at the bank said the check wouldn’t cash. That account isn’t even active anymore, but (Foster) kept giving him runarounds, saying he wrote it out of the wrong checkbook. It just started getting worse and worse, to the point where we said we needed to walk away from him,” the dad recalled.
By that point, he said, many in the group believed Foster was lying about multiple things.
“That’s when (Foster) started ‘Dads of Denham 2.0.’ That was actually after ‘Dads of Denham’ disbanded. Once everybody kind of had enough and realized he was lying through his teeth about just about everything he told us, we all walked away because we didn’t want to be involved, and that’s about the time we started figuring it out,” he said.
The father stressed that the original “Dads of Denham” group had no connection to the allegations now surfacing against Foster, which include sex crimes involving an underage girl and accusations that he coerced a young woman into sex acts while threatening not to repay money he allegedly took out in her name without consent, according to the Livingston Parish Sheriff’s Office.
“Karma got him. We knew what we were doing (Dads of Denham) for, and now we’re so scared that what he has done is going to tarnish what we were trying to do for the community,” the dad told UWK, adding that’s one of the reasons he’s speaking out.
He said many of the fathers were already aware of Foster’s pattern of lying, but the documentary The Devil Wears Dunks revealed allegations they say were far more serious.
MORE: Documentary’s Producer speaks to UWK “quote from him”
“Ricky wanted everyone to envy him. He wanted to feel rich and powerful. He wanted to be the man in charge. He wanted to say he had more than anyone else,” the dad said, adding they’re all still trying to figure out what Foster gained from all of this.
Foster was charged with 10 counts of rape, four counts of sexual battery and 10 counts of extortion. He is being held without bond.
“I hope he goes to jail and gets the help he needs. He’s just a narcissist. He has issues. I felt a sense that karma finally caught up with him when I saw he was arrested. I told my wife the other day, ‘I see him getting killed before he goes to jail because that’s how many people he screwed over.’ Karma caught up with him. He deserves everything he’s going to get.”
Download the Unfiltered with Kiran app from the Apple App Store and Google Play to stay updated on the latest news across the Capital area.
Support UWK and its mission to deliver The News You Deserve. Unfiltered. Become a monthly patron on Patreon today!
