Washington -
~Watch the story~ They ride choppers and Harleys, and everything about them says "biker gang."
They look rough. They sound mean. It is an image they embrace and defy.
"We're gnarly, huh?" said Kathy Ward. "But you know what? Hearts of gold. Big ol' marshmallows that would do the world for a kid."
They call themselves Bikers Against Child Abuse, or BACA.
The bikers protect children who are victims of physical or sexual abuse.
"We do not condone violence," said a BACA member who goes by the name "Dragon." "But if we are the last obstacle between that kid and someone who's hurting them, abusing them, harassing them, we'll be that barrier."
Social workers refer victims to BACA. Then the members basically adopt that child, first with a rally ride to the child's house.
"You can hear us coming for blocks. And that's what gets the kids so excited," said Ward. "And we're sending a message in the neighborhood: 'Those are our children. They are BACA kids.'"
They give kids their own biker leathers and a road name.
And they show up when they're needed most. Like when BACA child, T.J., spoke at his abuser's sentencing in August.
"I'm scared he'll get out," T.J. told the judge.
Behind him, his bikers filled the courtroom. They didn't say a word. But their message was clear.
"Don't mess with our kids," Ward said, "and they are our kids. And don't mess with them."
These rough riders will drop the tough guy persona to be silly if it gives children a new sense of security.
"They're like the nicest people I've ever met," said BACA child Mouse.
Mouse's mother Loretta Fox says the referral to BACA took her by surprise.
"I was a little leery about it when she said they were bikers who wanted to talk to my child. I thought, 'OK that's a little nerve wracking,'" she said. "But at that point I was so scared for her that I didn't know if there was anything else that I could do to protect her, make her feel better. I figured if they could do that for her, I was willing to give it a try."
And Fox says it worked.
"Even though I could tell her it was going to be OK, it wasn't the same as having them. She just felt more empowered by them," she said.
The bikers become family. And talking about it gets these big burly guys choked up.
"Little ladies come up to me and tell me,' you guys are angels for what you do' and give you a hug and it's...you're just, OK, you know, if you want to see a fat man cry, good job," said one of the bikers.
BACA members love to ride.They take pride in their bikes. But more than the open road, they love the kids they swear to protect.
One of their patches says it all:"I would ride through hell to save a child."
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