Ariana Kukors Smith sues USA Swimming for covering up alleged abuse
May 21, 2018, 1:36 PM | Updated: 1:36 pm
Ariana Kukors. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
(AP Photo/Michael Sohn, File)
Olympic swimmer Ariana Kukors Smith and her team filed a lawsuit in a California superior court against USA Swimming, and former coaches Sean Hutchison and Mark Schubert.
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In February, the Olympic swimmer alleged Hutchison, who coached her at King Aquatic Club in Federal Way, groomed Kukors Smith for sexual abuse and assaulted her during trips and while training.
Ariana Kukors Smith, from Auburn, swam for the 2012 Olympic team.
The lawsuit includes the national governing body of swimming for having covered up Hutchison’s actions. Kukors Smith said she hopes the filing will motivate USA Swimming to make sexual abuse prevention a priority.
The lawsuit claims that top USA Swimming officials Chuck Wielgus, pat Hogan, and Murray Stephens knew in 2005 that Hutchison was known for allegedly engaging in inappropriate relations with underage swimmers, including 16-year-old Kukors Smith. They allegedly investigated the rumors, but that involved one phone call to Smith, who at the time denied the rumors.
Kukors Smith’s team says she was molested in 2006 during a training session in Southern California and during the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in British Columbia – continuing for nearly a decade.
USA Swimming has not commented. Hutchison says his relationship with Kukors Smith started when she was 18 and was consensual.
Earlier this year, homeland security raided Hutchison’s Seattle home for evidence. One investigator said Hutchison was in possession of child porn.
