简体中文
Investigators have searched the Seattle home of a former US swimming Olympic coach amid allegations that he sexually abused and took explicit photos of a world champion when she was underage.
Homeland Security taskforce investigators along with police in Washington state served a search warrant at 46-year-old Sean Hutchison’s Seattle apartment on Tuesday, recovering electronic devices they say may contain evidence, the SeattlePI reported. Hutchison is alleged to have taken nude photos of Ariana Kukors, the 2009 world champion in the 200m individual medley who placed fifth in that event in the 2012 Olympics, when she was 17.
Homeland Security launched an investigation on 30 January following a report from Kukors, according to the court documents. Kukors, now 28, said in a statement on Wednesday that she went to police to report that Hutchison sexually assaulted her on trips and while training at Seattle area pools. She told investigators that Hutchison used his position as her longtime coach to “groom her” for sexual abuse.
Kukors said the grooming started at age 13 when he became her coach at King Aquatics, a Seattle-area swim club. She claims Hutchison started sexually abusing her when she was 16. Kukors said she came forward to empower other survivors.
“I never thought I would share my story because, in so many ways, just surviving was enough,” Kukors said. “But in time, I’ve realized that stories like my own are too important to go unwritten. Not for the sake of you knowing my story, but for the little girls and boys whose lives and future hangs in the grasp of a horribly powerful and manipulative person. That they may not have to go through the same pain, trauma, horror, and abuse. That their parents, mentors, and guardians are better able to spot the signs of grooming and realize its tragic consequences before it’s too late.”
According to a search warrant affidavit, investigators responded to claims that Hutchison took sexually explicit photos of Kukors more than a decade ago. Hutchison was a US Olympic swimming coach in California at the time, a position from which he resigned in 2010 amid speculation that he was sexually involved with a swimmer.
Hutchison denied it at the time, saying “there is no truth to that,” and insisting his departure was a long-planned move to form his own pro team. He is currently listed as the CEO of King Aquatics.
Hutchison, who was an assistant coach on the 2008 US Olympic team, has yet to comment on the latest allegations.
The news comes after sexual assault cases rocked gymnastics in the US. Former USA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar was given lengthy jail sentences after admitting abusing girls in his care over a period of decades.
(GUARDIAN)
