The lawsuit was filed on behalf of a young athlete identified as John Doe, who joined the program in April 2021 at eleven years old. The complaint described repeated sexual abuse by former coach Kevin Whitmer. According to the filing, Whitmer engaged in grooming behavior that escalated over time into explicit sexual acts.

The complaint alleged Whitmer instructed the child to sit on his lap and engage in inappropriate physical contact. These interactions reportedly included intimate touching disguised as “massages.” The alleged abuse later escalated into sexual acts that occurred in private locker room settings within team facilities.

A central claim in the lawsuit focused on institutional failure by Sharks Sports & Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiary Sharks Ice, LLC. The complaint argued these organizations failed in their duty to protect young athletes. It asserted they allowed unsupervised locker room access and private electronic communication between coaches and minors.

The lawsuit also described repeated warnings that were allegedly ignored by management. A program supervisor reportedly notified leadership multiple times about Whitmer violating locker room policies. Despite these alerts, no effective corrective action was taken, and enforcement of safety protocols remained inadequate.

The complaint further stated that parents had noticed Whitmer’s unusual conduct around players. Some reportedly observed behavior that made athletes visibly uncomfortable. These concerns, combined with internal warnings, were not addressed in a timely or meaningful way, allowing the alleged abuse to continue unchecked.

The case also pointed to failures in following established safety guidelines set by USA Hockey. These policies are designed to prevent misconduct through supervision requirements and communication restrictions. The lawsuit claimed that these standards were not properly enforced within the organization.

Sharks Sports & Entertainment owns the NHL’s San Jose Sharks and operates several sports facilities in the region. The settlement highlights the importance of strict oversight in youth sports organizations. It also emphasizes the need for consistent enforcement of athlete protection policies.

This case reflects the lasting consequences of institutional negligence and the vulnerability of young athletes. It serves as a reminder that safeguarding measures must be actively implemented, not merely established on paper, to prevent harm and protect participants.

The settlement also resolves three additional lawsuits brought by two former Tamalpais High School students and a private tennis player who received lessons from Burgos at the school. One of the victims, identified as John Doe, will receive $4.5 million for abuse that began during the 1999-2000 school year, when Burgos was still a probationary employee without tenure protections. Doe testified that a school administrator witnessed Burgos sexually abusing him but failed to intervene or report the incident, instead making a joke and walking away.

“None of these men should have ever been abused,” said attorney Mark Boskovich, who represented the victims. “The district’s failure to act enabled and emboldened Burgos to continue his predatory behavior.”

Two other victims, identified as Doe 2 and Doe 3, alleged they were sexually assaulted by Burgos during the 2000-2001 school year under the pretense of “body fat tests.” Both men will receive $750,000 each as part of the settlement (Marin County Superior Court, Case No. CIV2204358).

“Thank you for all you have done for me, I will appreciate it for the rest of my life. You both put on an amazing trial and I know doing so required not only tremendous skill, but most of all, intense preparation and hard work. Holding those accountable who were responsible for my abuse has both empowered me and helped me heal.” A.H.

Burgos’ abuse often involved taking students into private settings under false pretenses, such as conducting body fat tests or fitness evaluations. Instead of performing legitimate tests in public areas, Burgos would isolate students in his office, have them lie on a massage table, remove their clothing, and then sexually assault them.

“The district’s failure to protect these students is indefensible,” said attorney Robert Allard. “This case serves as a stark reminder that safeguarding students must always take precedence over protecting teachers or coaches.”

The lawsuits also highlight the devastating and long-lasting effects of sexual abuse on survivors. Many victims testified about years of trauma, including struggles with substance abuse, damaged relationships, and feelings of shame and low self-esteem. “These men have endured life-altering pain,” Boskovich said. “Some contemplated suicide; others turned to drugs and alcohol to cope with their suffering.”

Normandie Burgos was finally brought to justice in 2019 when he was criminally convicted of 60 counts of sexual abuse involving multiple victims. He is currently serving a 255-year prison sentence.

This settlement underscores systemic failures within the school district to address early warning signs about Burgos’ behavior and prevent further harm to students. It also serves as a call for stronger protections and accountability measures in schools statewide to ensure student safety.

Click for a copy of the lawsuit

The lawsuit states that the victim, referred to as Jane Doe, was a freshman at Leigh High in the 2002-2003 school year. Thomas allegedly began grooming her for sexual advances and assaulting her multiple times on school grounds, including in his portable classroom and a storage room in the boys’ locker room. The lawsuit claims that Thomas’s wife Sarah, who was the Dean of Leigh High at the time, discovered the victim with Thomas in his classroom after they had been having sex.

In spring 2003, the lawsuit alleges that Thomas forced Jane Doe to have an abortion after he had impregnated her. After the pregnancy, Jane Doe reportedly told Sarah Thomas about the abuse, but the lawsuit claims Sarah blamed the victim and did not report the abuse to authorities or take action to protect the student.

The lawsuit states that Shawn Thomas continued to sexually assault the victim on school grounds even after the pregnancy. “Leigh High School had every opportunity to prevent the abuse of my client,” said attorney Lauren Cerri. “There were red flags everywhere that Shawn Thomas was a sexual predator. Even worse, a direct report was made by my client and completely ignored.”

At the time of his arrest, Shawn Thomas was a teacher and coach at Leigh High and Los Gatos High. He was known in the local athletic community, having been a standout athlete at Leigh High and coaching there and elsewhere. His wife Sarah has worked for the school district for over 20 years.

Cerri believes there may be additional victims and is asking anyone with information to contact her office.

U.S. District Judge Paul G. Byron, in his recent order, granted partial summary judgment, affirming that an internal USTA investigation verified Aranda’s “engagement in sexual misconduct” with McKenzie in 2018, when she was 19, and also revealed an incident involving the coach four years earlier. The USTA‘s own records documented 31 reports of sexual abuse within the sport between 2013 and 2018, indicating its awareness of the pervasive issue of sexual abuse among amateur athletes, as stated by Judge Byron.

The judge emphasized that since the USTA oversees both the training facility and coaches for athletes in its program, individuals like McKenzie depend on the organization to take reasonable measures to prevent instances of abuse during training sessions and events. McKenzie argued that the USTA shares a “special relationship” with its players, similar to the duty of care universities owe to their adult students, thus imposing an obligation to protect athletes in its training program from sexual assault — a claim the court supported.

McKenzie sought summary judgment solely on her negligence claim, leaving other allegations like battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress for trial. While the USTA pursued summary judgment on all counts, asserting its lack of awareness regarding Aranda’s history of misconduct, Judge Byron rejected their motion, deeming issues of breach and causation appropriate for jury determination.

According to the lawsuit, Aranda arranged practices on a secluded court without surveillance cameras and at times when few people were present, facilitating his assault on McKenzie.

McKenzie had been part of the USTA’s Player Development Program from age 12 to 19, with the assault occurring shortly after Aranda became her full-time coach in November 2018.

Judge Byron highlighted that the USTA did not prohibit relationships between athletes and staff until 2019, suggesting evidence of a culture of sexual misconduct within the training program.

Additionally, the woman involved in the prior incident was a USTA employee who failed to report the assault, even after being promoted to manager of player development. She only came forward following McKenzie’s incident, with the court deeming her inaction unreasonable.

McKenzie is represented by Amy L. Judkins of Newsome Melton PA, along with Robert Allard and Mark J. Boskovich of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.

The case is McKenzie v. United States Tennis Association Inc. et al., case number 6:22-cv-00615, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida.

The issue of abuse within USA Fencing, the National Governing Body for Fencing in the United States, has been a persistent concern. Similar to many sports organizations, instances of abuse have emerged over time, prompting investigations and calls for reform.

The #MeToo movement played a pivotal role in shedding light on various forms of misconduct and abuse across different industries, including sports. In response to allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse within fencing, USA Fencing established a Safe Sport Task Force in 2019.

Reports of abuse within USA Fencing have implicated coaches, officials, and other figures within the fencing community, involving emotional, physical, and sexual abuse, as well as harassment and bullying.

A survey conducted by “The Fencing Coach,” a notable fencing blog, in March 2018 revealed alarming statistics. Nearly 20% of women in the fencing community reported experiencing sexual assault by another member of the community.

The issue of sexual abuse within USA Fencing gained heightened attention amidst public scandals involving similar misconduct in other organizations such as USA Gymnastics, USA Taekwondo, the Boy Scouts of America, and the Roman Catholic Church. USA Fencing acknowledges the elevated risk of child physical and sexual abuse within youth sports environments on its website.

By 2017, the prevalence of sexual abuse within Olympic sports became so concerning that Congress intervened to provide support to athletes competing for national governing bodies. The legislation empowered the U.S. Center for Safe Sport to establish a mechanism enabling aspiring Olympic athletes to report abuse allegations to an independent and impartial entity for thorough investigation and resolution. Additionally, it mandated that all national governing bodies adhere to stringent standards for preventing, detecting, and investigating child abuse.

Furthermore, the legislation addresses limitations in current law pertaining to victims’ ability to sue perpetrators of sex crimes by extending the statute of limitations. This adjustment recognizes the challenges faced by children in identifying crimes committed against them until much later in adulthood.

In the current lawsuit filed by Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, it specifically implicates a former coach from Sunnyvale, alleging that USA Fencing inadequately addressed instances of abuse by this coach. These allegations have sparked concern within the fencing community, prompting discussions about athlete safety and safeguarding measures within the sport.

Furthermore, the allegations suggest that USA Fencing failed to take appropriate action to prevent or address reported misconduct, resulting in harm to individuals within the fencing community. The lawsuit seeks accountability from USA Fencing for its purported negligence in handling these matters.

Despite efforts by organizations like USA Fencing, addressing sexual abuse remains a complex and ongoing challenge. Work continues to create a safe and supportive environment for all participants in fencing, including efforts to change the sport’s culture to prioritize safety, respect, and accountability.

Beginning in 1999, student “Jane Doe” was abused by Los Gatos High School Assistant Track Coach Chioke Robinson, who began grooming her to accept his sexual advances when she was a 14-year-old freshman. The grooming escalated, and Robinson began having intercourse with Jane when she was 15.

Jane’s settlement was negotiated by Cerri, Boskovich & Allard attorney Lauren Cerri.

“This tragedy never should have happened,” Cerri said. “Another young female track athlete testified that she told head coach Willie Harmatz in 1998 that she was uncomfortable around Robinson. That girl’s complaints fell on deaf ears. All Harmatz did in response was tell the girl to run on the other side of the track away from where Robinson was training the girls’ track team.”

In late 1999, Jane’s mother found a discarded pregnancy test in her wastebasket, along with a love letter from Robinson. Administrators at the high school including Principal Trudy McCulloch and Coach Willie Harmatz were informed.

“When another student disclosed that she had seen Robinson abusing Jane, Harmatz went to the girl’s house and threatened to ruin her athletic career if she didn’t stop ‘lying’ about Robinson, according to sworn testimony from the student,” Cerri said. “Harmatz should have taken steps to protect this student but he instead covered up the brewing scandal.”

Robinson was never disciplined; he was finally fired in March 2001.

“Even after other students told the school they had seen Robinson kissing me and engaging in sexual acts with me, the school allowed him to continue coaching,” Jane said. “They cared more about the track team winning than protecting students.”

And make no mistake – Jane was a winner from a very young age: She participated in the Junior Olympics and broke all the records in the high jump for her age group. By the time she was 11 years old, Jane was the second-best high jumper in the state.

But her dreams of becoming an Olympian were shattered by the abuse that was enabled by the school district.

“I was a popular kid in high school,” Jane said. “I had a lot of friends but Robinson took control of my life by alienating me from my family and friends. It happened very quickly – everyone you know becomes a stranger because you’re no longer a part of them and they’re no longer a part of you. So then it was just him.”

Robinson’s hold on Jane continued until she was 21.

Robinson was finally arrested in February 2019 by the San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and charged with 19 counts of sexually assaulting numerous girls, including Jane Doe. Robinson’s trial is set for Nov. 7.

Although Jane Doe’s sexual abuse occurred in the late ’90s, she was able to sue the Los Gatos Saratoga Union High School District because of Assembly Bill 218, which extends the California statute of limitations and allows older sexual abuse claims to be litigated through December 2022.

The student, Alexander Harrison, is now 36 years old.

His lawsuit against the Tamalpais Union High School District was filed in March 2020 by the San Jose-based law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard under the auspices of AB 218, which extends the statute of limitations to allow older child sexual abuse cases to be filed through December 2022.

Mr. Harrison is deeply thankful to the jury and felt the verdict was emotionally healing.

“After having been so hurt by so many in my own community siding against me when I first reported Burgos’ sexual abuse, this jury’s recognition of the wrong that Burgos and the school district did to me has an impact on me that is beyond words and will allow me to finally move forward.”

Mr. Harrison hopes this verdict will impact schools, so that they always put kids’ safety first when there is sexual misconduct by an educator.

“I want this verdict to change how schools respond to these abusive situations – too many educators have inappropriately touched students yet they’ve been permitted to continue teaching, while student complaints were kept secret,” Mr. Harrison said. “The jury spoke loud and clear that schools need to better protect the students in their care.

Attorney Mark Boskovich said the verdict was a long time coming.

“Police told school officials about Burgos’s sexual misconduct in late 2002, when a wrestler complained that Burgos had touched his genitals during a body fat test,” Mr. Boskovich said. “The district mishandled that complaint and continued to provide Burgos with unsupervised access to students by concealing the complaint from key school employees.”

The jury agreed.

Some of the trial testimony focused on a pledge by then- Tamalpais High School Principal Chris Holleran to develop protocols for body fat testing. But Holleran didn’t follow through, with a school district expert testifying that Holleran’s lack of action was not within the established standards of care.

“If the district had a zero-tolerance policy regarding teacher sexual abuse, Burgos would have been outed in 2002 and Mr. Harrison’s abuse would have stopped,” attorney Robert Allard said. “But the district buried its head in the sand.”

Students, meantime, continued to complain about Burgos’ abuse until he was arrested in August 2006, when Mr. Harrison came forward. The trial ended in a hung jury in favor of conviction.

The Tamalpais Union High School District finally fired Burgos in 2008 and he lost his California teaching credential. So, Burgos opened a tennis clinic, where he continued to sexually molest children.

“Burgos is truly a dangerous serial predator who harmed many children,” Mr. Allard said. “For example, Mr. Harrison suffered a loss of self-worth and 20 years later he still has trouble trusting people. But he’s become a warrior who is fighting to protect other children from abusers.”

Burgos was finally brought to justice in 2019, when he was criminally convicted of 60 counts of sexual abuse. He is now serving a 255-year prison sentence.

About Cerri, Boskovich & Allard

The attorneys at Cerri, Boskovich & Allard have a national reputation and a proven record of helping survivors and their families recover from childhood sexual abuse. The firm’s $65 million jury verdict in a sexual abuse case against a public school is believed to be the largest single plaintiff verdict ever in California and the United States.

To learn more about the Harrison case, read the New York Times article.

Federal lawsuit filed by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard and Florida-based Normand PLLC

ORLANDO, Fla., March 29, 2022 – A rising tennis star who was sexually assaulted by her coach has filed suit against the United States Tennis Association, claiming the organization and its player development affiliate failed to protect her from a known sexual abuser.

The civil suit was filed in Orlando, Florida on behalf of Kylie McKenzie, an Arizona resident who was sexually harassed and assaulted in 2018 by Coach Anibal Aranda at one of USTA’s National Training Centers.

“The manner in which USTA enabled Aranda’s predatory behavior shows the USTA continues to have a serious sexual misconduct problem,” attorney Robert Allard said. “We are starting to see a distressing pattern of the USTA turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation of athletes.”

Kylie was 19 and trying to come back from a serious injury when the then-34-year-old Aranda began coaching her at the direction of USTA. Like most abusers, Aranda used Kylie’s desire for success to exert power over her, promising that she would be successful if she stayed with him.

“Aranda had his hands all over me when we were practicing and his behavior was escalating on a daily basis,” Kylie said. “It got to the point where I dreaded going to practice.”

The turning point came on Nov. 9, 2018, when Aranda sexually assaulted Kylie by rubbing her vagina when he was sitting next to her on a bench after practice, the lawsuit says.

Kylie immediately reported Aranda to the United States Center for SafeSport. After an extensive investigation, SafeSport accepted all of Kylie’s allegations and ordered that a 2-year ban and subsequent 2-year probationary period be imposed against the coach.

Aranda’s harassment and abuse of Kylie, Allard said, should have been foreseen by the USTA since he had previously attacked a high-level USTA executive in virtually the same manner.

“USTA was acutely aware of this man’s predatory behavior and, incredulously, made the decision to assign him to Kylie for coaching, even though they knew they would have significant one-to-one interactions, often in remote parts of a massive training center,” Allard said. “If there was ever a situation of sending a wolf to an unprotected, unknowing and innocent sheep, this was it. The fact that they did not even warn her or her parents of his history is unconscionable.”

A recent story published by Matt Futterman and the New York Times contains additional information about Kylie’s story.

This is by no means the first time USTA has kept its athletes in the dark about its knowledge of predator coaches. As covered in extensive litigation that concluded in 2021, the USTA had previously been made aware of another coach’s molestation of a male athlete in Northern California and, although it subsequently banned him, kept this information confidential and failed to issue simple warnings to parents of children known to be under the care and supervision of this coach. As a result, at least one other boy was molested.

Compounding matters is the fact that for well over 10 years the United States Olympic Committee had been imploring the USTA to make several changes to its child protection rules, including publicly posting lists of banned coaches and banning romantic coach/athlete relationships. USTA consistently flouted these recommendations, insisting that it was fully able to regulate itself, as New York Times’s David Chen wrote in April 2020

“USTA’s track record demonstrates it is unable to protect its members so long as its leadership continues to be fixated on revenue generation at the expense of athlete protection,” Allard said. “So, we are asking Congress, as it recently did with USA Gymnastics, to get involved in the daily management of this corrupt entity and issue, where appropriate, severe sanctions such as decertification.”

Any athlete who was sexually harassed and/or abused by Aranda or any other USTA coach is encouraged to contact Cerri, Boskovich & Allard at 408-289-1417 or visit https://www.cbalawfirm.com/.

The day Allison Brown told police she had been sexually abused by her former basketball coach was life-changing for both her and Greg Marshall: he is now serving a 6-plus year sentence for repeatedly abusing Allison and she is working to recover from his abuse.

Allison was a student-athlete at Valley Christian High School in San Jose when Marshall began abusing her in the early 2000s.

In 2021, Allison hired Cerri, Boskovich & Allard to represent her in a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian, saying the school should have protected her from Marshall.

Using the law for accountability

Allison decided to sue her alma mater after she realized “it’s not just putting your hand out and asking for money to help with the damages that I’ve experienced. It’s not about that at all. It’s about holding the institution accountable for their wrongdoing.”

Valley Christian settled Allison’s lawsuit and agreed to make policy changes that she believes will help avoid future sexual abuse problems at the school.

She said, too, that “the lawsuit was a learning experience because I didn’t know the legal system and how things work. So, every time I was receiving information, it was new information and I was trying to understand how it all operates and how it works.”

Allison warns potential litigants not to get bogged down by minutiae.

“The hardest thing is the emotional roller coaster and the ups and downs. One day you might be feeling great and thinking, ‘I’ve got this, I’m on top of the world,’ and then something can hit you and bring a lot of emotions up,” she said. “So, working through those ups and downs and finding a place of grounding for yourself would be the best advice I can give.”

Allison says it “took a while” for her to figure out that she is not a broken person. She is a “whole” person.

“It took time to help me understand that the person that abused me was the adult in the situation,” she said. “And when I was able to accept that and love myself, I was able to break through and not be ashamed of what happened. I was able to talk about it more freely and openly with people, and I was able to work through some tools and exercises with my therapist in order to help me tell my story in my voice and in the way that I needed to tell it.”

Even so, it wasn’t easy.

“The process is not an easy one, the process is hard, it can take a while, it can wear on your emotions,” Allison said. “It’s an invasion of privacy when you have to disclose a lot of information about yourself and about your past and your current state of mind. However, the result of providing all that information to people who can help is completely worth it.”

She singled out attorneys Bob Allard and Lauren Cerri, and victim advocate Jancy Thompson, calling them a “Dream Team.”

The Dream Team

Jancy became a victim advocate after coming forward with her story of sexual abuse.

“It absolutely helped me working with Jancy and talking with Jancy and hearing that she has gone through similar emotions to what I was going through,” Allison said. “Jancy had similar fears to what I was experiencing and fears about the process. You know, Jancy made herself available to me throughout the day when moments popped up that that took my focus away. And having an advocate who has been through this process was incredible.”

She had kudos for her attorneys, too.

“You absolutely want Bob on your side – he is a fighter and he cares. He cares about you as an individual. He cares about making a difference in sports systems, school systems, whatever the institution is Bob cares about making a difference. You do not want to be on the other side of the table with Bob,” Allison said. “And Lauren is so approachable and kind. As I mentioned, there were concerns early on in the process that I was very hesitant about. And without having met Lauren in person, she gave me a call. She talked me through what the process would look like and some of my concerns. And Lauren is just brilliant and so loving and kind to work with.”

The team’s communication skills also helped Allison work through her anxiety.

“Having a dream team is what encouraged me to keep pushing forward,” she said. “They were very communicative and it allowed me to understand what was going on and allowed me to put my attention where I needed to in any given moment.”

Allison was worried how the lawsuit might impact her career, fearing she might be judged by her co-workers.

Speaking out

“I disclosed this in confidence to my boss and she responded with so much love,” Allison said. “I think being honest has continued to help me be successful in my job, in my career, in my social life, and with family and friends. I think it was telling my truth, so that people could understand if I was having an off day or, if I didn’t show up, they could understand why.”

Allison is happy with the outcome of her case saying, “I gave it my best. I fought the fight. I voiced my truth and voiced my concerns for children in the school. I stood alongside Bob and Lauren and Jancy, who helped me through this process, and I know they gave it everything they got as well. I trusted that they were guiding me through the best solution and outcome as possible. And I trusted their process.”

In addition to trusting, Allison says sexual abuse survivors who are considering a lawsuit should “follow their heart” and understand their personal limitations.

“We can’t do it all, but we can try to implement change and not let this happen to any child again. That would be my dream,” she said. “But sometimes at the end of the day, you can only do so much or you can only give so much.

Today, Allison says she feels “incredibly proud” for speaking out.

“In my experience and in my abusive past, the power was taken away from me,” she said. “I received my power back going through this process. I received my voice back.”

Sexual predator Normandie Burgos, a once well-respected Northern California tennis coach, is serving a 255-year prison sentence after being found guilty in May 2020 of 60 counts of child molestation.

Some of the charges involved Stevie Gould, who was a 13- year-old tennis player when Burgos began abusing him. The abuse went on for two years.

Stevie is largely responsible for putting Burgos in prison: he secretly recorded the tennis coach admitting to having sex with a child and turned the recording over to police.

Then, Stevie went one step further and filed a civil sexual abuse lawsuit against the United State Tennis Association for allowing Burgos to continue coaching long after the allegations of abuse first surfaced in 2001.

The Burgos Tennis Foundation was a USTA affiliate and Stevie’s lawsuit was settled in 2021.

Stevie described the experience as a “long, arduous process” that was also a “really honorable process.”

“There’s a lot of people who are focused on monetary gain and I didn’t feel that with attorney Bob Allard,” Stevie said. “I felt like their priority, in addition to vindicating me, was to take care of me and to get justice for what was right.”

At first, Stevie was skeptical about filing a civil suit but that feeling disappeared as he worked hand-in-hand with Mr. Allard and victim advocate Jancy Thompson.

“When I met Bob for the first time here in San Francisco, I was extremely hesitant. And then I started actually talking to him and listening to what he had to say. And there’s a genuine aspect to Bob and to Jancy and to the entire law firm that resonated with me,” Stevie said. “It’s a gut feeling. What can’t be understated is how important that is when you’re dealing with something so sensitive and so meaningful to you, and to the person who’s working with you.”

The lawsuit proved to be a true learning experience

“I learned many things about myself, which I didn’t know before. And that’s the most important part of the process – what you learn about who you are, what you stand for and what you want in this world,” he said. “It empowered me to feel like I can speak up even more than I already have to tell my story in the best way that I can, and to know that I can speak to people in all different situations in life and know that I have people behind me, people supporting me that really know how to work and know how to get things right.”

Stevie learned, too, that the sexual abuse he endured will always be a part of his life.

“It’s not something that’s ever finished, ended, accomplished. It’s not something you can defeat, shrug it off and move forward. It’s always going to be a part of you,” Stevie said. “And that’s what I would tell any survivor of sexual abuse that, for better or worse, it is a part of who you are. And the more you can learn to accept it as a part of who you are, and work to make things better to turn such a horrible experience into something that you can use to empower others and empower yourself, learn that you have gained a lot of strength, a lot of integrity through being abused and you understand how to have empathy for others. And instead of trying to escape it, embrace it and use it for the best way you can.”

Stevie believes if you talk about your abuse you create “new opportunities in life that you may not have had before. And that’s something that’s really key to understand.”

Another important lesson he learned is that “sexual abuse does not stop with the victim. I have seen it traumatize my family, my friends, people that I’m not very close to were really, really saddened and affected by this process.”

The lawsuit helped his family to help him

“I know that from my experience and from my family’s experience that they learned a lot about what I went through that they didn’t know before,” he said. “They learned about what happened and they learned about what I was going through day-to-day. They learned how to fight for me instead of giving me pity. And that was something that I couldn’t be more appreciative of – they were able to stand by me instead of feeling like they had to stand for me.”

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons Stevie learned is that he’s just as vulnerable as the next guy. But knowing and believing are sometimes hard to reconcile.

“Everyone is capable of being taken advantage of and it’s not your fault, no matter how much you might think it is,” he said. “That’s something that I will say but will struggle for years and years and years to believe. But doing this is a way to take control back, it’s a way to take your power back.”

Stevie will continue to talk publicly abuse his abuse because he wants to encourage other survivors to come forward. “It just takes one and one leads to one more. We can start a movement – no more sucking it up, taking it and not speaking up. We need to change that.”

Yet another swimmer has come forward alleging disgraced coach Andy King sexually abused her after he was first exposed as a pedophile.

The allegations are contained in a new lawsuit filed by the law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard that says King used his position of authority “to manipulate and sexually assault over a dozen female swimmers over a 30-year period,” including “A.H.”

A.H. is the anonymous plaintiff in the new case that was filed in Alameda County Superior Court (case #HG21112559).

In addition to USA Swimming, affiliates Pacific Swimming and San Ramon Valley Aquatics are defendants in the lawsuit.

“They all looked the other way, placing their profits and reputations above the safety of young, vulnerable female athletes like A.H.,” attorney Robert Allard said.

Like other young girls coached by King, A.H. dreamed of becoming an Olympic swimmer when she joined San Ramon Valley Aquatics in the late 1970s.

By the early 1980s, when A.H. was around 12 years old, King began grooming her to accept his sexual advances.

“He’d make sexually inappropriate comments to her and have her sit on his lap during swim practice,” Mr. Allard said. “He gave her gifts and paid special attention to her, even telling her how mature she was and talking about the possibility of a future together.”

A.H. was 14 years old when King stole her innocence in March of 1985.

“We know that in the summer of 1984 people in the Bay Area swimming community were talking about King’s sexual abuse of swimmer Debra Grodensky. In fact, the talk was so widespread that Debra’s competitors even asked her about it but nobody did anything about it.”

Ms. Grodensky is a client of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard. She, too, is suing USA Swimming, along with swimmers Caren McKay and Katie Kelly, alleging King sexually abused them. Their case is set for trial in May of 2022.

King’s contract with San Ramon Valley Aquatics was not renewed in mid-1985 partly due to the Grodensky sexual misconduct. So, King formed Chabot Aquatics in Hayward and continued to sexually assault young girls.

King’s reign of terror finally stopped in 2009, when he was arrested for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old San Jose Aquatics swimmer. He is now serving 40 years in state prison after pleading no contest to the criminal charges brought by the San Jose girl and three East Bay swimmers.

“USA Swimming has fostered a sexual abuse culture,” Mr. Allard said. “In 1991, a USA Swimming committee acknowledged the sexual abuse problem and recommended that steps be taken to protect young athletes. But it wasn’t until 2006 that even basic measures like criminal background checks were implemented. As a result, my clients are still suffering decades later.”

In 2018, the Orange County Register reported that at least 590 athletes were USA Swimming sexual abuse victims and at least 252 swim coaches and officials had been disciplined or banned for sexual abuse or misconduct against athletes under the age of 18.

“As long as USA Swimming fails to take care of these sexually abused athletes, we will continue to fight for victims and file lawsuits to ensure that these athletes are compensated for the lifelong harm caused by the organization,” Mr. Allard said.

A new lawsuit filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court alleges that former Piedmont Hills High School track coach Chioke Robinson repeatedly sexually abused a young female student both on and off school grounds.

The civil suit was filed on behalf of “Jane Doe,” who chooses to remain anonymous, by San Jose-based Cerri, Boskovich & Allard.

Jane ran track at Piedmont Hills High School in San Jose, which is part of the East Side Union High School District. She says her track coach, Chioke Robinson, began sexually grooming her in 2009, when she was a 15-year-old sophomore, by hugging her, spending time alone with her during the off-season, buying her lunch and driving her places.

Robinson also bought Jane things like track shoes and tights.

“These are all red flags that we know predators use to lure their victims,” attorney Robert Allard said. “Tragically, that’s what happened here – Robinson used his position as a trusted coach and authority figure to lure my client into illegal sex acts during her junior year. He’s a sexual predator who needs to be kept away from young women and girls.”

Robinson’s inappropriate behavior was reported to school officials sometime around 2012 by a mother who had heard the coach was “involved in a sexual relationship with Jane Doe,” the lawsuit says.

“The school district did nothing, they just ignored the mother’s report,” Mr. Allard said. “They neglected their duty to protect students and instead allowed Robinson to continue coaching young girls. The school district also failed to report his behavior to the San Jose Police Department, as required by law.”

Robinson was arrested in February 2019 by the San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and charged with sexually assaulting four girls between the ages of 12 and 17.

He was bound over for trial in July, after Jane Doe and other victims testified at Robinson’s preliminary hearing.

Mr. Allard and his team also represent a Robinson victim from Los Gatos High School who was allegedly abused in the late 1990s.

“We know it’s highly likely that Robinson sexually abused other young women who are afraid to come forward,” Mr. Allard said. “But it’s important they do because he must be stopped. Years later, my clients continue to suffer from the abuse that could have so easily been prevented.”

Anyone with information regarding Robinson is urged to contact Cerri, Boskovich & Allard at 408-289-1417 or visit cmalaw.net.

The first year of high school is always exciting, a sign that you’re almost a grown up who will soon be forging your own path in life.

That’s how sexual assault survivor “Jane Doe” felt when she joined the Los Gatos High School Girls’ Track team in 1998: the world was her oyster and her future was bright.

Today, Jane is anonymously suing the Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District and two track coaches for the sexual abuse she endured for more than three years.

Her abuser was LGHS track coach Chioke Robinson who, Jane says, was enabled by the high school’s head track coach Willie Harmatz.

Robinson was hired for the 1998-1999 school year.

Jane had already distinguished herself in middle school, winning championships in the high jump, 100m hurdles and 4×4 relay.

She was doing well at LGHS, too, breaking the high school’s records for the 300m and 100m hurdles; she qualified for the state finals as a freshman.

And dreamed of becoming an Olympic athlete.

But Chioke Robinson destroyed that dream when he began grooming the then-14-year-old to accept his sexual advances. The red flags were there -Robinson often drove Jane home from school and singled her out for special attention, for example.

By the time she was a 15-year-old sophomore, Jane and Robinson were frequently engaging in oral sex and intercourse, often in the high school’s track shed.

Once, Robinson sexually assaulted Jane under a stairwell after a track meet at Gunderson High School in San Jose.

“Looking back, I realize now how young I was and how easily Robinson manipulated me,” Jane said. “He acted like he cared about me and loved me and needed me to the point where I actually believed that I wanted his love and affection.”

Jane had been transformed from a goal-oriented student-athlete to a confused teenager who was now in trouble academically.

Jane says Robinson used condoms during their sexual encounters but still made her take pregnancy tests, one of which Jane’s mother found in her trashcan, along with love letters Robinson wrote to Jane.

Her mother called police, who launched an investigation.

But Jane denied anything sexual had happened between them.

“I was heavily conditioned to defend Robinson and I did,” she said. “He had the foresight to know he’d get caught at some point, so he told me not to admit anything to the cops because he could go to jail.”

Jane described that day in November 1999 as “one of the most traumatic days of my life.”

The next day, Jane met with the school principal and head coach Harmatz, who asked her if the reports of sexual abuse were true.

“I shook my head no,” she said.

But other things were happening simultaneously.

When another student told Harmatz she’d witnessed Robinson abusing Jane, he went to the girl’s house and threatened to make her athletic career difficult if she didn’t stop “lying” about Robinson.

That is just one example of how Harmatz covered up and enabled Robinson’s abuse. The school district’s response was equally awful: they sent Robinson a letter telling him to “use common sense.”

But the winds of scandal were in the air.

Finally, Robinson was dismissed in March 2001. A few weeks later, the high school’s newspaper, El Gato, ran a story that said Robinson’s firing was due to “poor judgement.”

Then came the betrayal.

Coach Harmatz ignored the fact that Robinson had been fired and was quoted by the local newspaper as saying Robinson was continuing to coach on-campus practices “every single day.

Worse still, the El Gato report spurred talk amongst students and teachers, and Jane could hear them gossiping about her behind her back.

Jane left high school, enrolling in a West Valley Community College program for gifted high school students.

“I remember being 16 years old and suddenly being on my own,” Jane said. “I was no longer in high school, no longer with the rest of my teammates. I never went on a first date or had a first kiss. Instead, my high school turned a blind eye to my sexual predator, which led me down a path of self-destruction. Suddenly, I had to figure out the rest of my future: I was no longer an athlete, no longer a high school student and lost for a very long time afterwards.”

The stress and anxiety caused by Robinson’s abuse and the subsequent horrific developments took a terrible toll on Jane’s health.

“I was experiencing so much stress that my hair began falling out and at one point I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance,” she said.

She continues to suffer from PTSD, anxiety, instability, insomnia and depression.

“It’s hard to put into context the impact of what happened to me and how it continued to drown me throughout my life,” Jane said. “The red flags that were overlooked and swept under the rug followed me for 20 years. Those red flags should have been acknowledged the moment they were presented to school administrators. I should have been protected.”

Jane went on to say that “Robinson should never have been permitted to come back to campus after his initial arrest in 1999.”

Twenty years later, in February 2019, Robinson was arrested by the San Jose Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. He stands charged with sexually assaulting four girls, including Jane.

Robinson is free on bail awaiting trial, a legacy of carnage eclipsing his successes as a track coach.

And Jane’s message to parents, school officials and law enforcement is straightforward.

“Never let a conditioned, 15-year-old kid defend her predator. Never wash your hands of a situation involving a sexual predator. Never assume a child has a parent who will take corrective measures. Please, keep them safe,” she concluded.

San Jose, CA – Jan. 5, 2021 – The law firm of Cerri, Boskovich & Allard is announcing the filing of a sexual abuse lawsuit against Valley Christian High School (Santa Clara County Superior Court) and its former coach, Greg Marshall.

The lawsuit alleges that Coach Marshall began sexually abusing girls on his varsity girls’ basketball team almost as soon as he was hired in the 2001-2002 school year.

According to the lawsuit, Valley Christian ignored Marshall’s repeated grooming behavior, which included excessive on-on-one time with female students during school hours, especially during lunch, transporting them alone to and from school, and inappropriate touching. On at least one occasion, Marshall was seen in an elevator on school grounds with his first known victim alone in a compromising position by the VCHS athletic director and/or other Valley Christian employees.

Allison Brown was his second victim, starting in the 2003-2004 school year. She is a named plaintiff in the complaint and one of two victims seeking to have Marshall prosecuted for his alleged crimes and hold Valley Christian accountable for enabling him. Brown came forward in 2018 as a result of finding courage from the gymnasts in the Larry Nassar case.

“Valley Christian High School had every opportunity to stop Marshall before he sexually abused my client,” attorney Robert Allard said. “Instead, the school was acutely focused on building its image and reputation through Marshall and his family, particularly in sport.”

Marshall’s three children were some of the greatest athletes to ever play in the San Francisco Bay Area and helped Valley Christian High School win numerous football and track championships.

The lawsuit alleges that Marshall sexually abused Brown multiple times a week on school grounds, including in the classroom, the weight room, and storage closets.

After the two victims graduated high school, victim number one came forward in late 2006. Police were notified. The only known action that Valley Christian took in response was to quietly and confidentially remove him from his position as a coach and teacher while continuing to allow him unfettered access to its campus.

By 2006, Marshall’s children were bringing glory to Valley Christian through their exploits as star athletes. As a result, Marshall continued training athletes on school grounds, and the school continued to refer athletes to him for off-campus training.

Despite a police sex crimes investigation, Marshall served as the Assistant Strength Coach for the San Francisco 49ers from 2007-2010 and went on to coach at Branham High School.

According to the lawsuit, in 2008, Brown’s parents provided the Athletic Director with proof that Marshall had abused their daughter, but the authorities were not called.

“By this time, Valley Christian was blinded by all of the acclaim that all three of Marshall’s children were bringing to Valley Christian in its quest to become an athletic powerhouse,” Allard said. “Child safety should never take a back seat to anything, especially when we are talking about predators and sex abuse.”

In 2018, Brown came forward and in a pre-text call, Marshall admitted to the abuse and was arrested in 2019.

Since the Nasser scandal broke in 2016, at least 250 women say they were sexually assaulted by Nasser beginning in 1992.

One more victim has come forward: Gymnast Terin Humphrey, who won two silver medals at the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Terin was only 15 years old when she was “treated” by Nasser at a 2002 gymnastics meet in Virginia.

“I had torn both my hips, so my coaches asked Dr. Nasser to see me,” Terin said. “One of my coaches accompanied me, but it didn’t make any difference – Nasser blocked her line of vision to make sure she couldn’t see what was happening. He pulled my briefs up so high that I knew I was exposed – and then he began petting me.”

Terin was caught off guard and jerked away from Nasser, but he continued assaulting her.

“I remember his smile got really wide and he made a sound I’ll never forget when he felt my pubic hair,” she said. “He kept his hand on my vagina and continued rubbing me. Then he digitally penetrated me.”

Terin, her coach, and Nasser were only in the exam room together for 15-20 minutes. Still, it was an “odd” experience that Terin brushed off, thinking that because Nasser was “a USA Gymnastics doctor, he probably had more expertise than my previous massage therapist.”

But as Terin digs up those long-ago memories, her recollections offer insight into the perverted mind of a serial sexual predator.

“He explained pubic this and pubic that,” she said. “I had no idea what he meant, but he seemed to know what he was talking about. I remember walking back to practice and not feeling any change in my hips. I also remember the feeling of his hands on me.”

The next day, Terin’s coaches asked her if her hips still hurt, and when she replied, “Yes” they trundled her off to see Nasser again.

“The same thing happened again, although I do remember him stretching me a little during the second visit. The next time my coaches asked if I was still in pain, I lied and said, ‘No’ because I didn’t want to go back to him,” Terin said.

At some point, Terin asked her teammates their opinion of Dr. Nasser, all of whom thought he was “wonderful.”

“That made me think I was being overly-sensitive, so I convinced myself it never happened and attempted to forget about it,” she said.

Terin’s “heart sank” when news of Nasser’s crimes broke, but it was another four years before she realized that she had been sexually abused.

“It took me years to acknowledge my abuse, so I’m certain there are other victims who have yet to come forward. When they do come forward, hopefully, the class action lawsuit we’ve filed will give them a voice, too,” she said.

Terin found her voice after becoming pregnant in 2019.

“I had the worst pregnancy ever,” Terin told the Southern California News Group. “The more I went to the doctors, the more I was having issues … I felt like my puzzle pieces were coming together, and I just remember when I had my pelvic exams, I remember seeing Larry.”

In July 2020, Terin was diagnosed with PTSD by Dr. Steven Elig, who said, “Late disclosure is not uncommon in sex abuse victims.”

He also said, “Worry about her unborn child, difficulties with doctors’ pelvic exams, delivery, touching her genitals (served as) reminders of her abuse (which) flowered once she found out she was pregnant. She presents as the real thing.”

Terin was also diagnosed with severe depression and is seeing a therapist twice weekly.

She feels guilty about putting her daughter, born in January 2020, through such a stressful pregnancy and is working hard now to be a good mom.

“I don’t want what happened to me to happen to my daughter,” she concluded.