A jury in California has ruled that USA Swimming was not negligent in the case of a former coach who sexually abused a 13-year-old swimmer, although she will receive $1.125 million from two USA Swimming affiliates in a civil lawsuit.
In the criminal case, former Stockton Swim club coach Shunichi Fujishima pleaded guilty to sexually abusing the girl he’d coached and was sentenced to 12 years in prison in October.
At that time, an out-of-court settlement with Stockton Swim Club and Pacific Swimming, which oversees the sport in the Stockton area, was reached in the civil case. The victim’s attorney, Robert Allard, announced the settlement amount Friday, when both he and USA Swimming confirmed that the jury found the sport’s national governing body not responsible in the case.
