Amy Lestinsky is enduring any mother’s worst fear. Police say her young daughter was sexually abused by a babysitter – who was also a town youth camp counselor.

On Tuesday, Lestinsky took her fight to the state Capitol, urging lawmakers to pass new rules on municipal youth camps.

But could the regulations backfire?

Dozens of towns warned that they could make camps much more expensive – and even force some to close altogether.

The small-town peacefulness of Bethany was shattered last summer when police charged Anthony Mastrangelo, 25, with sexually molesting five young girls.

“This man was subsequently arrested for sexually assaulting my daughter while babysitting for her,” Lestinsky said. “He worked at our Parks and Rec Department and was also a student teacher and substitute teacher at our elementary school.”

Lestinsky and other parents claim town leaders knew about allegations against Mastrangelo, but kept him employed for months while police investigated. In October, the Bethany Board of Selectmen commissioned an independent investigation into what happened.

Lestinsky believes a loophole in state law allowed the abuse to go unreported. Privately-run youth camps are subject to oversight by the Connecticut Office of Early Childhood, but those operated by towns and cities and not.

“There is a hole,” said state Sen. Ceci Maher (D-Wilton). “There’s a gap, and this gap has existed for a very long time.”

On Tuesday, the state Senate approved legislation requiring municipal youth camps to get a state license, including background checks for all workers. Suspected abuse would have to be reported to OEC.

“We cannot let something like this ever happen again,” Lestinsky told reporters.

But towns are lining up against the bill. They argued the added regulations – including age restrictions for staff and new facilities requirements – could force towns to shut down youth camps.

“These requirements do not make it possible for us to operate our camps, and will simply force us to consolidate or close,” said Preston Parks and Recreation Director Mark Simmons.

Parks and Recreation departments said the Bethany case is an isolated incident.

“We already provide safe camps,” said Liz Gambacorta, the town of Glastonbury’s recreation supervisor. “We do background checks. We have multiple layers of oversight. Significant staff training and require our staff to hold certifications.”

“We are already overseen by a government agency,” Cheshire Parks and Recreation Director Elizabeth Mayne told lawmakers. “Why do we need a different government agency to be involved?”

Republicans also oppose the bill, saying it will make summer camp unaffordable for parents.

“This bill is going to drive up the cost of camp by between 50 and 80%,” said state Sen. Heather Somers (R-Groton). “That’s coming directly from our parks and rec directors. Fifty to 80% when budgets are already tight.”

But Lestinsky said it’s a small price to pay for children’s safety.

“If our town’s parks and rec program had been licensed, and proper rules and guidelines had been in place and were followed, it is likely he would have been immediately removed from the program, and his removal would have alerted me to the problem,” she said.

Despite Lestinsky’s pleas, the legislation faces long odds.

It now heads to the Connecticut House of Representatives, where leaders also have concerns.

“Does it need to escalate to that level of regulation, given that there’s been a pretty strong track record of municipalities running their summer camps?” asked House Majority Leader Jason Rojas (D-East Hartford).

“That’s the main issue,” added Connecticut House Speaker Matt Ritter (D-Hartford). “It’s costly and it could be cumbersome. Do they have the infrastructure to do it?”