USA Swimming Coaches Raped, Molested, Secretly Taped Dozens of Teen Swimmers

[sabra]

Source: ABC News

Olympic Governing Body Under Fire; 36 Swim Coaches Banned for Life Because of Sexual Misconduct with Teens

Apr. 9, 2010 —

In a sex abuse scandal that some victims compare to what happened in the Catholic Church, at least 36 swimming coaches have been banned for life by the USA Swimming organization over the last 10 years because of sexual misconduct with teenagers they coached.

The coaches have raped, molested, fondled and abused dozens of swimmers, according to court records and interviews conducted by ABC News for reports Friday on "World News with Diane Sawyer" and "20/20."

One coach, Brian Hindson of Kokomo, IN, secretly taped teenage girls he coached in two high school pool locker rooms, one in which he directed girls to a "special" shower room where he had a hidden camera inside a locker.

"It was a sense of betrayal," Indiana swimming star Brooke Taflinger told ABC News chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross for a report to be broadcast Friday on "20/20."



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/abc-news-investigation-usa-swimming-coaches-raped-molested/story?id=10322469

[SharonRB]

1. This is outrageous! n/t

[hlthe2b]

2. Banned for life, exposed, and prosecuted...

If only we could require the same accountability from the Catholic Church and the Vatican.

[Florida Blue]

7. Or the Bushies for war crimes.

[liberation]

11. I am confused too?

Why are rape charges not followed up with criminal indictment regardless of the position of the person accused?

So churches don't pay taxes and are exempt from criminal prosecution? I don't remember any amendment in our constitution which gave religious nuts such a sweet deal of an exception.

[closeupready]

30. I asked this question in another thread today; nobody could answer.

It's a good one, why child molesters acting alone are prosecuted but child-molesting priests are NOT prosecuted (or most of them aren't, it seems).

[Tansy_Gold]

32. Statute of limitations is probably involved

If charges aren't brought within a stated time from the crime, not much can be done in terms of criminal prosecution. Since children are easily intimidated into saying nothing or into believing they were to blame, claims aren't made until much later, when the statute of limitations has run out.


TG

[closeupready]

33. Correct me if I'm wrong, but doesn't that apply only in cases where authorities are aware of

the abuses? Such that, if these crimes were coming to light only NOW, then statute of limitations begins ticking from this point forward?

[Tansy_Gold]

34. I have no idea. I'm not a lawyer. I was only speculating on a possible

reason why criminal charges weren't filed.

:shrug:


TG

[closeupready]

35. I am also not a lawyer, and you could very well be correct.

I just know, for example, during discussions about Polanski, a lawyer in that thread (if I recall correctly) explained how statutes of limitation are applied.

So anyway.... Cheers.

[Tansy_Gold]

39. Well, I think in the Polanski case, it was because he was a fugitive

and the charges had already been filed. But hey, I dunno!

:hi:



TG

[cstanleytech]

53. I think it all depends on the states laws.

[No Elephants]

59. No. The Statutes begin to run when the crime occurs. Certain things can halt that, depending upon

the law of the state involve. Sometimes time just keeps running out. Sometimes, time does not start to run until the victim comes of age. In the case of repressed memory, sometimes time does not start to run until the memory is recovered. Again, it varies from state to state. Most of these statutes probsbly should be looked at again.

[closeupready]

74. Many thanks.

:)

[happyslug]

87. Criminal Statute of Limitations start to run after the crime in committed

Civil Litigation is a little different, it generally starts to run after the crime is committed and is generally four years in duration BUT if the victim is a minor the statute of Limitations for Civil Litigation generally can NOT start to run till the child turns 18 (i.e. he or she must file by the time they turn 22).

Now, a big exception exist if it can be shown the victim had some good reason for NOT filing the action i.e. do to the trauma of the incident repressed the incident till they were long after age 22. This has to be something more then a refusal to accept the fact you had been a victim. Such refusal is quite common among victims of such incidents, most such victims do NOT have a good idea of what happened to them till they turn about age 30, long after the statute of limitations had run. Thus you can file after your turn age 22, but the victim has to show some reason why he or she did not file before that date. Lack of knowledge of any harm till long after you turned 22 is the best attack (for example you are shot at age 12, but for some reason you did NOT realized it till some doctor found the bullet while checking you for some other reason at age 45, the statute of Limitation then starts to run from the date you found out you had been harmed).

[feslen]

45. because

the child molesting priests' sins are forgivable in the eyes of their God and religion, don't you know? *sarcasm*

they should all be prosecuted the same way in real life, but alas that isn't always the case.

[Liberty Belle]

54. Yes, and charge those covering up for pedophile priests as accessories to the crimes.

There is no reason to exempt anyone from prosecution. Set a few high-profile examples and this nonsense would stop.

[pnwmom]

52. The statute of limitations has often prevented criminal charges. n/t

[No Elephants]

58. Massachusetts prosecuted a few. Statutes of limitation need amending!

So do statutes that protect confessions from disclosure. It should be the opposite. Medical care givers have an obligation to report suspected child abuse. So should those to whom it is confessed, given the repetitive nature of the crime and the rarity of a cure.

AMA--Absolution, my ass!

[happyslug]

88. Confidential confessions to Doctors, Lawyers and Priests are protected.

Now a Doctor must report anything he sees during a medical exam, but can NOT reveal what the patient told him (i.e. must report that the patent had scratches, but can NOT report that the patient told him he received the scratches from a victim the patient was killing). The same with Lawyers and Priests, they must report what is seen by them as citizens, but the opposite rule applies if it involved what the client/penitent is telling the lawyer/priest. If a priest sees another priest molesting a child, he must report that to his bishop (Church law) AND must report it to the local police (State law in almost every state). On the other hand if the second priest told the first priest of the crime, that is viewed as confidential and can NOT be reported to anyone, ever the Bishop.

The main thrust of such protection is to encourage communications. Pius XII in 1954 even issued a letter in regards to such confessions by the victim as opposed to the perpetrator, saying that is still protected confession can as such the priest can NOT tell anyone, BUT the priest should tell the victim to file a complaint with the bishop even if that means running after the victim and asking them outside the confessional.

[Demeter]

20. Or Congress

[happyslug]

86. In the recent cases, the priest involved had been banned.

As far as prosecution, that was up to the parents at the time of the incident, and most parents did NOT want to prosecute so no charges were every brought. As to exposure, that is AGAINST current law in most states, the reason being if you expose the perpetrator you also have to expose the victim. The Victim generally does NOT want that so no exposure (the majority of such cases are within families, it is only a minority, something like 10% of cases of pedophilia involves non-family members).

Thus, exposure and prosecution are rare in cases involving the Catholic Church AND OTHER places where such activities occur (i.e. swim classes and your local Public School). As to being banned for like, the Wisconsin case the priest had been banned from being around children in 1974 when the local Bishop first heard of the allegations. The 1990 case involving Pope Benedict involved only the official de-flocking of the priest for the statute of limitations had run on all criminal and civil litigation (Through the data seems to have come from some on-going civil litigation since 2000, but a case that also seems never to have ever got to trial for the victims could NOT explain why it took them so long to file the Civil Case and thus the Case was probably, I do NOT know for certain, just speculating, dismissed under a four year statute of limitation that ran out when the victims turned 22 (Statute of limitation only start to run when a child turns 18, thus ran out when the victims turned 22 unless the victim can show some reason why they could NOT have brought the action before they turned 22).

People tend to forget that under studies done (Mostly by the Catholic Church as part of various settlements) that the rate of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church is about the same as the general population. People often ask me if that is true why do we hear of the Catholic Church more then the others? The reasons fall into two categories. First is Sovereign immunity (Which the Catholic Church can NOT claim) means that if a Public School Teacher did the act, the victims could sue the teacher BUT not the School. In real terms it means that the victim can NOT sue anyone who can pay the cost of the lawsuit let alone the damages to the victim.

The second categories is the underfunding of many programs for children i.e. if a child is a victim, the victim sues the perpetrator AND the organization the perpetrator is a member of. At that point the organization goes brook (For it never had the money in the first place) and some new organization appears and performs the same function. The Catholic Church can NOT exercise this option for it does have assets.

My point here is that the main reason we hear of such cases involving the Catholic Church is that the Church has assets that can be used to pay off a Judgment AND is not protected under the concept of Sovereign immunity. Almost every one else is NOT sued for they is no way to pay the lawyers let alone the victim. Furthermore why expose the VICTIMS to the public when all that will happen is the Victims will become know to the public (If you could get money for the Victim it is worth the exposure but if the possibility of any Judgment is slim what benefit does such exposure have for the victim).

Now, the third item you mentioned, banned for life, I did NOT address in the above. Prior to the 1980s it was believed you could "cure" such pedophilia, that has since been proven false but was the most common concept prior to the 1980s. Thus bans for life were rare prior to the 1980s even for public school teachers (most just moved to a new School District if they were ever fired). In the Wisconsin Case the Bishop, while he did NOT de-flock the priest, he refused to give the priest any assignments (i.e. he was a priest without a parish). In effect he had a life time ban, but was still technically a priest. The late 1990 case was the effort of the Diocese of Milwaukee to de-flock him (New Bishop who after learning of the accusations and why the priest had NEVER been given a re-assignment started the proceeding to de-flock the priest, which was stopped by the Vatican given that the priest was in ill-health and was NOT in any position to harm anyone, remember the priest died within two months of that letter).

In simple terms, in the Wisconsin case the priest had been banned for life from being around children and was NEVER permitted around children after 1974. Thus in that case he had been banned. In other cases, other bishops have NOT been as strict and have been successfully sued. Almost all of those cases involve pre-1995 cases (In the mid 1990s the National Catholic Conference adopted very strict rules on such cases, rules that require a ban on evidence that would NOT even hold the priest liable in any Civil Litigation). Some American Bishops have express displeasure at these rules (As did the Vatican, the rules adopted errs on the side of banning innocent priests more then the Vatican was comfortable with) but the rules were adopted AND the Vatican approved the rules. This does NOT mean such cases will not occur, everyone acknowledge that there is NO way to complete prevent such cases, but the new rules should minimize any harm by forcing the local bishops is separate priests from potential victims early in any investigation.

We have more information on the Catholic Church and such cases then any other group in the US for the simple reason the Catholic Church is NOT protected by Sovereign immunity AND has assets to pay attorney's fees and damages. It is NOT because the Catholic Church has more such cases, but more such cases go to Court for lawyers only like taking cases that they can get paid for and everyone else involved with Children is protected by Sovereign Immunity or has no assets to pay anyone.

[Captain Hilts]

3. Culture of silence in youth hockey in Canada

http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/article/774168

[Captain Hilts]

4. Convicted pedophile back coaching youth hockey

http://www.justicemonitor.ca/grahamjames.htm

The man who shook Canadian hockey to its core by committing more than 350 sexual acts on two teenaged players is back in the game and once again coaching.

Graham James was sentenced in 1997 to 3½ years in prison for abusing Sheldon Kennedy and another unnamed junior player. After his initial conviction, James was convicted a second time for the indecent assault of a 14 year old Winnipeg boy in 1971. That conviction earned James a six month sentence to be served concurrently with his first sentence.

...

[LisaM]

42. This happens in a lot of fields (thanks for finding the hockey ref, I was going to look for it)

It's not limited to the Catholic church. It seems to be endemic in a lot of organizations. And covered up in a lot of places. I suspect if you looked into boarding schools, you'd find a lot there, too.

[Yupster]

76. I'm sure it happens in every organization

It's true for boy scouts, coaches, teachers, preachers, and every other group you can think of.

[femrap]

46. Unbelievable!

I guess if one is molested/assaulted, he/she should say that the pervert also stole their cell phone or computer....crimes against property get big sentences.

Ain't patriarchy just grand:sarcasm:

[certainot]

55. i think it's got something to do with

this:

http://FunnyOrDie.com/m/3svl

[DrDan]

5. banned????? Where are the criminal charges?

[sakabatou]

6. I want to know too

[hlthe2b]

8. Mentions court documents...

but the story is very incomplete. :shrug:

[pinboy3niner]

13. Looks like ABC is embargoing the details . . .

until its 20/20 segment airs.

[Chulanowa]

12. Unfortunately it can be very hard to get a court case together for this sort of thing

Often it simply becomes "hearsay" because not all abuse leaves physical evidence.

However, the organization is still within its rights to tell the suspected abuser to take a hike, court case or no.

[DrDan]

17. I hear you - however, I fear it becomes a matter of being offered a choice to

accept the ban . . . or being subject to a criminal investigation. So the coach simply moves along to a new location and repeats the behavior.

[paulsby]

23. i don't think you understand what hearsay means

an alleged victim testifying to what he claims happened to him/her is not hearsay

[No Elephants]

60. True, but, without a witness or physical evidence, it is referred to as "he said, she said."

At least when the claim is between a male and female.

When it is only a claim by the alleged victim, it is hard to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt--and the prosecution has the burden of proof.

But, you know that.

[paulsby]

78. that is certainly true

no disagreement here

[Toasterlad]

51. The Two Individual Examples Cited Both Mentioned Criminal Charges Were Filed.

[DrDan]

57. yes - and apparently 34 without criminal charges

[No Elephants]

62. Maybe they doubt they can get a conviction. Please see Reply 60.

And, if it there was "consent," by a teen, that makes geting a conviction even harder.

[DrDan]

72. that's true . . . sad, but true - these guys are predators

[Toasterlad]

69. Why Are People Reading That Into This Article?

Wait...I know why. Because ABC is deliberately tying this into the catholic church scandal. They are reporting that the men where fired and banned for life, but they are NOT reporting that they've been thrown in jail...but they are also not reporting that they HAVE been thrown in jail. Nowhere in the article does it say that any of these men ultimately escaped prosecution...and if they had, I have no doubt the article would mention it.

Doesn't it appear to anyone else that this story seems to be screaming, "Hey! The priests aren't the only ones! Other guys abuse kids too! Stop singling us out!"

[DrDan]

73. they have done enough research to know that 36 are banned, and there are only 2

wehre criminal charges have been filed.

Seems to make sense to me that the others are only banned, and not charged. Otherwise, we know know about the charges.

But . . . . then again, I am not trying to paint ABC as having an agenda.

[Toasterlad]

75. Nowhere In the Article Does It Say That Only Two Men Were Criminally Charged.

No where does it say that the rest of the men were NOT charged.

You can pretend that the article says that those other 34 men were not charged, but you'd be wrong.

[DrDan]

77. you don't know that . . . now do you

[Name removed]

81. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

9. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[tridim]

10. One of my former gymnastics coaches was busted recently for this.

I was safe because I'm male.

Why do people think they can get away with this? It just doesn't make sense.

[Name removed]

14. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[paulsby]

25. people DO get away with this

it happens all the time.


you only hear (generallyspeaking) about the ones who DON'T get away with it

it doesn't therefore follow that people don't get away with it

they do

[No Elephants]

61. Males are not always safe.

[Plucketeer]

15. This very thing has hit our family recently

The teen girl involved has been thru emotional and physical hell, since being violated. About two months ago, she tried to take her own life as a result. She's doing better at the moment, but she's certainly scarred for life. And while being prosecuted for his crime, the perp is still walking free as of this day. :grr:

[Name removed]

16. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Pavulon]

18. Rape is about power, male rape in prison systems world wide

illustrate this. IMHO rape should carry the same sentence as murder. It is horrible for the victim (and their family) and causes a permanent change in their outlook on the world.

[No Elephants]

63. "Rape is about power." So they say. I don't think it is always that simple.

I think that "rape is about power" has become a meme.

It's not as thougoh psychology is an exact science.

JMO

[hedgehog]

66. I agree - what makes these cases similar to what's been happening in the Church

is that someone has unchecked authority and/or power over others. In this case, a coach can threaten a possible Olympic career.

[proteus_lives]

27. Male war on women?

Ignorant.

When did men declare war on women? I must of missed that at the last big meeting.

[Pavulon]

24. I am sorry. Cant imagine and thoughts are with you(nt)

[kurtzapril4]

36. Re:This very thing has hit our family recently......

I don't know what to say except...I'm so sorry for what happened to your young relative. That her abuser is walking around free is disgusting.

I must add this, though, as someone who was abused by a family member(I also tried to commit suicide)....your relative does not HAVE to be scarred for life. In my experience, counseling, hard work on her part(and lots of both)...will set her free. She will never forget, but with good couseling, it will cease to be something that affects everything else in her life, and will cease to be something she even thinks about frequently. She has a good thing going for her..a supportive family. In my day, people "just didn't talk about those things." My very best wishes to her.

[No Elephants]

65. So very sorry, Plucketeer.

[rocktivity]

19. Rape and sexual contact with minors are CRIMES.

Weren't charges filed at the time?

:grr:
rocktivity

[paulsby]

26. you need probable cause to file charges

and more specifically a case the prosecutor believes is winnable

that may not be the case here.

fwiw, the age of consent last i checked in canada is 14.

although in cases where the person is in a power position over the juvenile, that may still be illegal. our state has a similar law.

the age is 16 (except for those close in age, at which point it is 14), but if one is in a power position over the kid (like a teacher, coach, etc.) than the age becomes 18

[elocs]

21. I despair for the human race and particularly for males,

too many who seem to have no moral compass, no sense of right and wrong, who somehow believe there is nothing wrong with molesting, abusing, and raping children, young people, women. Apparently they believe they have some kind of entitlement for their perversion and believe they will never be caught. Even when the victims live they become survivors and are scarred for life.

When will this ever end and who can ever be trusted?

[Bluenorthwest]

22. So 36 went free, and all the priests and bishops too

while they performed a scapegoating of Michael Jackson, an innocent man. See how it works?

[closeupready]

31. Often, it turns out that those who are preying on children are most vocal about M.Jackson being

this that and the other thing. It's a means of deflecting scrutiny from their own abuses.

[tabasco]

64. Got any examples?

[happyslug]

89. Several priists have gone to jail

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2008-10-25/news/0810240364_1_abuse-federal-jury-trips

http://www.faqs.org/abstracts/News-opinion-and-commentary/ABUSIVE-EX-PRIEST-IS-KILLED-IN-PRISON-Papal-Transition-Traditional-Path-Sharply-Defined.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sex_abuse_cases

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholic_sexual_abuse_scandal_in_the_United_States

[proteus_lives]

28. I hope criminal charges are forthcoming.

[dugaresa]

29. Predators normally go where the prey is and that is sadly how this shit happens

[patrice]

37. Probably Catholic coaches.

:sarcasm:

[Odin2005]

38. WHERE ARE THE FUCKING CRIMINAL CHARGES!?!

These MONSTERS should be locked up forever.

[Toasterlad]

50. Of the Two Individual Examples Quoted In the Article, Both Were Brought Up On Criminal Charges

ABC is disingenuously trying to compare these instances of abuse to those of the catholic church. The difference, of course, is that these coaches were fired and prosecuted, whereas the priests were not.

[Taverner]

40. At least they were banned for life

The Catholic Church never did that

[BrklynLiberal]

41. Horrific. unspeakable. Those men should be in jail ..... how disgusting...

[izzybeans]

43. I had a former swim coach get arrested for molesting two of the older male swimmers

on my team.

Also an Indiana youth swimming coach.

[Jefferson23]

44. Such a horrendous problem, there needs to be a pro active approach

to ensure these children are protected in the first place. Without employing paranoid tactics, the parents are going to
need to demand more, trust less, of those they leave in the care of their children.

[AzNick]

47. I coached female teams and basically kept one foot between me and my players, except for high fiving

And I would basically avoid eye contact with the older players, wearing dark glasses and having my wife call them directly, or if I had to talk to them directly would ask for an adult instead and NEVER EVER was I alone with a female athlete.

It's not that I did not trust myself, I do not find younger girls attractive AT ALL, but these assholes have made it that hard to coach female athletes now that you have to take all precautions.

[seabeyond]

68. thanks for your post. and the exclamation not attracked to a kid.... !

for clarafication. i was on a highly competitve swim team for two decades. male coach. there was nothing, no feeling, no evidence, no behavior that the man ever projected to us swimmers. this was two and three decades ago. there were different coaches and i never saw or felt this from the male coaches.

i see today how people have to behave with kids. and the awareness in the kids. it is all wrong.

[Toasterlad]

48. "See! Other People Molest Kids Too!"

Can't help thinking this story is awfully convenient for the catholic church...and STILL the guilty men were exposed and fired!

It's not going away, Ratzi.

[Captain Hilts]

49. So much for celibacy being the cause of pedophilia...nt

[pasto76]

56. This is nothing like the catholic systemic abuses

but it is an outrage. My swimming coach was convicted of groping one of my teammates, a girl then in junior high school. He was also an alcoholic.

My childhood dog tried to attack him once...guess she knew well before anyone else.

SGT PASTO

[Stinky The Clown]

67. A very high level ballet teacher we know is in prison for such actions with young girls

Photographing. Fondling. Oral sex. He was convicted three times, with three different victims, in three separate trials. He will be out of prison when he's about 116 years old. And that is too short a sentence.

He had three gorgeous little kids and a lovely wife.

He students were innocents. Mostly preteens.

Lots of victims. Prison is not good enough for this fucker.

Or those fuckers masquerading as swim coaches.

[Blue_Tires]

84. I knew a couple as well

A former principal at my HS was accused, but later acquitted

And an art teacher from elementary school was convicted...He was extremely popular, cool, funny, and those early years of his art classes were probably the only years I enjoyed that class...

[Xenotime]

70. It's time to let the state oversee such activities...

It's obvious the private sector can not be trusted with the youth of this country.

[Qutzupalotl]

71. This thread is better without pictures. n/t

[True_Blue]

79. Brian Hindson might not have ever been caught

if he hadn't have sold his computer on Ebay with the video still on it. Scary!

[subaltern]

80. This isn't comparable to the Catholic priest business in the least. In fact

it is an example of an organization taking action. The Catholic scandal IS ABOUT THE COVER UP! And keeping priests in positions to victimize more people.

[Toasterlad]

82. THANK You.

[rug]

85. Not in the least.

"Ken Stopkotte, named Indiana High School Boys Swimming and Diving State Coach of the year for 2009, said the problem is pervasive and has been going on his entire 27 years in coaching.

"It's something that coaches talk about all the time," Stopkotte told ABC News."

[subaltern]

90. not even close nt

[krabigirl]

83. Sickos!!

[defendandprotect]

91. kick