Woman accuses former Olympic swim coach of sexually abusing her as a teen and USA Swimming of failing to stop it
CNN
A former high-level swimmer accused her Hall of Fame coach of sexually abusing her about 15 years ago when she was a minor and alleged USA Swimming and other organizations and individuals knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it, according to a federal lawsuit.
A former high-level swimmer accused her Hall of Fame coach of sexually abusing her about 15 years ago when she was a minor and alleged USA Swimming and other organizations and individuals knew about the abuse and did nothing to stop it, according to a federal lawsuit. The suit from Amanda Le was filed against “the individuals and corporate entities who let a known child rapist work as a youth swim coach, who supported him with infrastructure, position, and prestige for decades, and who allowed him full access to a never-ending cycle of young girls to prey upon,” the suit states. “Amanda Le was one of those girls.” Filed in US District Court in Massachusetts on Friday, the 33-page lawsuit alleges sexual abuse on the part of Joseph Bernal, the former Fordham and Harvard swim coach who served on the US coaching staff at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics. He coached multiple Olympic medalists and world record holders and was inducted into the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame in 2015, the lawsuit states. He also founded the Bernal’s Gator Swim Club, an amateur swim club, and coached Le from 2006 to 2010. Bernal sexually abused Le from about 2008 to 2014, the lawsuit states. In February 2016, USA Swimming permanently banned Bernal for his abuse of an unnamed “Athlete A,” the lawsuit states. That athlete was Le, the suit states. Bernal is named on a USA Swimming website listing individuals permanently suspended or ineligible for membership, due to “sexual misconduct.”
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