Swim Coach Pleads Guilty To Sexual Abuse
A swim coach pleaded guilty to sexual abuse of a 13-year-old swimmer this week.
Rick Curl, 63, from Washington, D.C. was one of the nation’s best-known swim coaches. He had trained Olympic athletes, along with thousands of other young hopefuls. Rick Curl pleaded guilty this week to sexually abusing Kelley Currin in the 1980s.
Rick Curl pleaded guilty to one count of child sex abuse, facing a maximum of 15 years in prison at his sentencing on May 23. According to ABC News, he will also be required to register as a sex offender.
Kelley Currin, now 43, traveled from Texas to attend Thursday morning’s hearing in Rockville. Currin walked to the front row of the courtroom and immediately after sitting down, stared to her left to face her former swim coach. The former coach Rick Curl’s wife and three attorneys flanked him across the aisle from Currin.
Rick Curl answered a series of questions from judge Marielsa Bernard about his accusations of sexual abuse. He said he had been considering pleading guilty since December.
According to the Washington Post, Assistant State’s Attorney Debbie Feinstein made a statement concerning Kelley Currin:
“I’ve told her over and over again that she’s a hero. A true hero. … This is not a happy day for her. This is a difficult day.”
When Kelley Currin had turned 15, she began having sex with Rick Curl, and continued until 1987, when she left the area to swim at the University of Texas. She and her parents had agreed to a $150,000 confidentiality deal not to discuss the sexual abuse.
Since the allegations, Rick Curl’s namesake organization, the Curl-Burke Swim Club, has been ordered into a name change to Nation’s Capital Swim Club.
How do you feel about Rick Curl pleading guilty to sexual abuse?
Former swim coach of Olympics athletes pleads guilty to child-sexual-abuse case from the 1980s fb.me/110zp1xZx
— Kosnoff Fasy PLLC (@SexAbuseAttys) February 22, 2013
