In a chilling similarity to that of Jerry Sandusky's child sex abuse case, a former swimming coach surrendered to police Thursday with relation to a case by a woman who alleges that he sexually abused her for a period over four years in 1980s.
Co-founder of well-known Curl-Burke Swim Club, 63-year-old Richard Curl is charged with child sex abuse and was released on a $50,000 bond.
In an article by the Washington Post in July, the victim named Kelley Currin who was a student of Curl, now 43, came forward and alleged that she was involved in a sexual relationship with Curl that began in 1983 when Currin was 13 and Curl was 33.
According to charging documents, reported by the Post, Currin told the investigators that 'starting when she was 13, Curl kissed her, fondled her and had her touch his genitalia multiple times. He also had intercourse with her multiple times from the time she was 15 until she was approximately 18.'
As per the exclusive July article by the Post, when Currin's parents found out about the incident, they were advised not to press any criminal charges by their attorney:
"Instead, in 1989, the parties reached a non-disclosure agreement under which Curl agreed to compensate the family $150,000 over 11 years for the 'pain and suffering experienced by her' and because he recognized possible damage to his 'reputation and customer relations.' Under the agreement, which The Washington Post has reviewed, Currin agreed not to press charges or speak publicly about it."
Currin said she wanted to come out publicly for a long time but was concerned about breaking the settlement.
"I was stifled for 23 years from saying anything because I signed a piece of paper when I was 19," Currin said to Post. "Now, I've gotten to the point in my life where I'm done being quiet about it. . . . It was a crime, what happened."
Richard Curl was banned from USA Swimming last month in the wake of these allegations and the swim club changed its name to Nation's Capital Swim Club. The coach's reputation has been marred since the allegations surfaced, who had many famous students including Tom Dolan, a gold-medal swimmer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics, during his good days.
An arrest warrant for Curl was issued Oct.23. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 1