In the civil suit, Kukors says USA Swimming became aware of sexual-abuse allegation against Hutchison around 2005 or 2006. The suit also accuses USA Swimming of mishandling its investigation into the matter and manipulating background-check procedures to cover up for Hutchison.
Ariana Kukors-Smith, a former University of Washington swimmer and 2012 Olympian from Federal Way, filed a civil lawsuit against USA Swimming on Monday, alleging that key officials within the sport’s governing body knew of her alleged sexual abuse by her coach, Sean Hutchison, but collaborated to cover it up.
“We are here today to force USA Swimming, the national governing body of the sport of swimming in America, to accept responsibility for allowing, and in fact, enabling a known predator coach to sexually molest for almost a decade, my client Ariana Smith beginning when she was just a young child,” Kukors-Smith’s attorney, Robert Allard said at a news conference held Monday at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle.