Stockton Swim Club coach Shunichi Fujishima, also known as Coach Shun, is facing child sexual abuse charges following his arrest for sexual penetration with force with a child under 14 years old, sending harmful material to a minor, oral copulation, and two counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child. Meanwhile, “investigators are looking for possible additional victims,” police said in a news release. Stockton Swim Club is a member of USA Swimming, the organization responsible for competitive swimming in the United States and under investigation for failing to protect hundreds of young swimmers from coaching sexual abuse.
Stockton Swim Club parents reportedly received an email stating that Coach Shunichi Fujishima would no longer be coaching, but they were provided with no other details. In numerous cases, swim clubs or USA Swimming have tried to keep parents in the dark in an effort to protect their image or reputation.
In cases involving popular swim coaches, it is not unusual for parents to quickly come to the defense of the accused swim coach, leaving the victim and parents of the victim feeling isolated and alone. The reason is that sexual predators not only go to great lengths to earn the trust of their victims but they also work on earning the trust of the community, in this case, swim parents. This is the predatory grooming behavior.
Who is Coach Shunichi Fujishima
Coach Shunichi Fujishima is from Tokyo, Japan and competed for the University of the Pacific Swimming and Diving program. He is also affiliated with the Japanese National Swim Team and wrote for Swimming World. One of his articles, 3 Major Cultural Differences Between Swimming in Japan versus in the U.S., is still online.
His LinkedIn page states that he interned during the summer 2017 season and was responsible for submitting stories bi-weekly and delving into feature writings, race analysis, training studies and event coverage. The profile also states that he worked for the Stockton Swim Club from November 2016 until the present time as the club’s CEO and Head Coach.
About the Stockton Swim Club
In March of 2018, Stockton Swim Club members traveled to Japan to compete in a swim event attended by a reported 2,000 young swimmers from 25 different teams, including some from the Philippines, Singapore, and mainland China.
The Stockton Swim Club competes against other nearby USA Swimming clubs which are part of Pacific Swimming, Zone 2. These San Joaquin clubs include Ripon Aquatics, Tiger Aquatics in Stockton, and Ellis Aquatics in Manteca.
Contact Us
If your child has been sexually abused by a swim coach or any adult, please contact our law firm for help. We have represented hundreds of child sexual abuse victims. Call our office at 408-289-1417.
Sources: https://www.recordnet.com/news/20190111/stockton-swim-club-coach-arrested-on-charges-involving-sexual-conduct-with-children