Coach Sexual Abuse

Ariana Kukors Smith Settlement Against USA Swimming

Published on: September 26, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The sexual abuse lawsuit brought forth by Olympian Ariana Kukors Smith has been resolved nearly two years after Mrs. Kukors Smith filed the action. The monetary settlement reached by USA Swimming’s insurance companies and Mrs. Kukors Smith will allow the 2012 Olympian to re-focus on the sport that she loves and to begin healing.

“I am glad that we were able to come to a resolution to this difficult process. As I begin the next chapter of my life, I hope that these last two years, along with the efforts of so many others, will help to provide athletes with a safer environment in which to compete,” Mrs. Kukors Smith said.

USA Swimming added the following: Throughout this process, Mrs. Kukors Smith has shown incredible strength and bravery and offered a powerful voice to all survivors. In sharing her story, Mrs. Kukors Smith thrust the very important subject matter of sexual abuse within youth serving organizations into focus and furthered important dialogue about the continued need for robust athlete protection policies and strong athlete and parent education.

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NY Times investigative report on USTA

Published on: September 26, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

David W. Chen from the New York Times takes a look at the US Tennis Association and its failure to protect young athletes from a serial sexual predator. Read the USTA Burgos story in full. Here is a summary:

According to the New York Times, with growing cases of sexual misconduct between sports coaches and athletes, the United States Olympic Committee reported, in September 2014, that all sports, except tennis, had taken the initiative to protect athletes from abusers. At the time, Gordon Smith, the tennis association’s executive director, and chief operating officer, “objected to a ‘single mandatory national entity’ overseeing abuse cases across federations.” Adding that “a sport should be able to ‘opt-out of the centralized structure’ if it could police itself.”

The problem with self-policing has shown, however, that many abusers fall through the cracks. Just a few months before this 2014 meeting, a U.S.T.A. tennis coach, Normandie Burgos, had been arrested for abusing one of his athletes. Unfortunately, it was not his first time facing criminal charges for sexual misconduct. Source: New York Times

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USA Swimming Sexual Abuse Lawsuits

Published on: September 13, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Three lawsuits filed against USA Swimming allege it enabled sexual predator-coaches to abuse young girls

Six victims identify former coaches Everett Uchiyama, Mitch Ivey and Andy King as their sexual abusers; King is a convicted child molester who is serving 40 years for his crimes.

The three lawsuits that were filed in early June 2020 are the latest volley against USA Swimming, which has come under fire for decades for condoning a culture that allowed young girls to be repeatedly abused by their coaches.

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United States Tennis Association named in sexual abuse lawsuit

Published on: January 16, 2020 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Civil lawsuit filed on victim’s behalf by Robert Allard of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard

When “W.S.” met Coach Normandie Burgos he was just seven years old, a young boy who was good at tennis and wanted to get better.

There’s no disputing that Burgos wanted W.S. to become a great tennis player – he repeatedly told W.S.’s parents that he was a “champion.” But as the years passed, W.S. grew up and Coach Burgos began to want more.

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Sexual Abuse Lawsuit Filed Against San Jose Unified School District

Published on: June 6, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Lawsuit states that it took two complaints by Willow Glen Middle School parents for the school to finally act against teacher Clifford Pappadakis.

The San Jose Unified School District is facing a sexual abuse lawsuit filed on behalf of two former Willow Glen Middle School girls, victims of photographs taken by former Physical Education teacher and coach Clifford Pappadakis. The photos, taken unknowingly, showed the girls in compromising and/or sexual positions, with some zoomed in on the minors’ private areas.

Photographs found on Pappadakis’ District-issued laptop included many captioned images of minors in sexually suggestive poses. Pappadakis was criminally charged and convicted in 2018 for possessing child porn and taking sexually provocative photos of his students.

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Stockton Swim Club sued following coach’s arrest for sex abuse

Published on: June 6, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The January 2019 arrest of Stockton Swim Club Coach Shunichi Fujishima has exposed yet another youth athletic organization that ignored its duty to protect the children in its care.

Fujishima, 23, faces criminal charges that he had unlawful sexual intercourse with a 12-year-old girl he was coaching at the Stockton Swim Club. The club is now listed as “permanently closed” on the social media site Yelp.

Fujishima was also charged with committing lewd and lascivious acts upon a child and possession of child pornography. He remains incarcerated in the San Joaquin County jail on $1.8 million bond.

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Bay Area Track Coach Chioke Robinson Arrested for Sex Crimes

Published on: February 25, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

Another San Francisco Bay Area Track Coach is facing sexual abuse charges following his arrest. Chioke Robinson, San Francisco State Women’s Track and Field coach, was arrested by San Jose Police on several counts of child sexual abuse. Robinson coached at both Piedmont Hills and Los Gatos High Schools before coaching at San Francisco State.

Robinson is charged with the sexual abuse of four minors, ages 12, 15, 17 and 17. He was arrested by the San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force / Child Exploitation Detail (CED).

According to a San Jose Police Department press release, the investigation revealed that between the years 1999 and 2011, Robinson sexually assaulted the victims.

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San Jose Track Coach Greg Marshall Facing Sex Crime Charges Against Minors

Published on: January 30, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The sexual abuse legal team at Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is investigating claims that former Valley Christian High School coach allegedly committed sexual abuse crimes against two minors. Call our office if you are or a loved one have been a victim of San Jose coach Greg Marshall.

UPDATE

The San Jose Mercury News is reporting that “multiple former female athletes reached out to the San Jose Police Department’s Child Exploitation Detail.”

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Stockton Swim Club Coach Arrested for Sex Crimes

Published on: January 14, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

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.

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San Ramon Valley Unified School District and New Life Church of Alamo Agree to Settle Sexual Abuse Case for $1.548 Million

Published on: January 10, 2019 | By Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, LLP

The lawsuit was filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard on behalf of a victim of Wrestling Coach and Youth Group Leader Kevin Lopez.

The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is announcing a $1.548 million settlement resulting from sexual abuse committed by convicted wrestling coach and youth group leader Kevin Lopez. Attorney Lauren Cerri represented the victim in his lawsuit against both the San Ramon Valley Unified School District and New Life Church of Alamo.

The lawsuit alleged that one year before Lopez was arrested, the administration at California High School in the San Ramon Valley Unified School District violated mandatory reporting laws by failing to report suspected sexual abuse and by conducting its own investigation after receiving two complaints about Lopez’s sexual improprieties. The District agreed to settle the case against it for $699,000.

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