05/11/2024

USA: Former world swimming champion denounces former coach for sexual abuse.

Jueves 08 de Febrero del 2018

USA: Former world swimming champion denounces former coach for sexual abuse.

Ariana Kukors accused Sean Hutchison of abusing her and taking nude photos of her for years.

Ariana Kukors accused Sean Hutchison of abusing her and taking nude photos of her for years.

Ariana Kukors is now 28 years old. | Source: Actively Northwest

The former US swimmer Ariana Kukors, 28, world champion in 2009, has accused former national team coach Sean Hutchison of sexually abusing her when she was a minor.

Investigators from the Department of Homeland Security, along with the Washington State Police, executed a search warrant on Tuesday at Hutchison's residence in downtown Seattle, where he works as a coach and executive director of the King Aquatic Club.

According to court documents accessed by local media, agents seized all electronic devices that could include evidence related to the complaint, which alleges that Hutchison touched, abused, and took nude photos of Kukors for years.

Agents from the Department of Homeland Security began the investigation on January 30th after the complaint Kukors filed with the local police, fearing that the coach may still be doing the same thing today.

Kukors (left) at an award ceremony. | Source: AFP

The complaint

Kukors stated on Wednesday in a statement that she went to the police to report that Hutchison, 46, sexually assaulted her on trips and during her training in the pools around the Seattle area.

The former swimmer, who was world champion and record holder in the 200-meter individual medley in 2009 and finished fifth in the 2012 London Olympics in the same event, also told investigators that Hutchison used his position as a coach to "touch" her since she was 13 and sexually abuse her when she was 16.

"I never thought I would share my story, because just surviving was enough," Kukors emphasized. "But over time, I realized that stories like mine are too important not to write."

Kukors insists in her statement that she is not filing a complaint for herself, but for the sake of many other girls and boys who may suffer the same tragedy. "I do not want them to have to go through the same pain, trauma, horror, and abuse," she says.

She also calls on parents, mentors, and guardians to be more capable of detecting signs that minors are in danger and realize their tragic consequences before it is too late.

Hutchison, who resigned from his position as coach of the US national team in 2010 amid speculation about his sexual involvement with a swimmer, said his departure was due to new professional challenges.

EFE

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