Article courtesy of KCTV5
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- A local woman has come forward alleging that she was the victim of sexual abuse from her coaches five years ago while competing on a local team.
The woman claimed in a lawsuit that her then-Kansas City Dolphins coach, Robert Mirande, engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct, including sexual harassment and sexual abuse when she was 17.
The suit doesn't end with Mirande, the woman's attorney, Lynn Johnson, said the effect stretches far into the national realm -- a hidden epidemic within USA Swimming Inc. to protect the coaches.
"We very strongly feel that we have to hold USA Swimming accountable," he said. "Until they are held accountable, nothing is going to change."
The suit also names the Kansas City Dolphins then head coach, Aaron Dean, for failing to take action against Mirande. It further claims the regional swim committee, Missouri Valley, as well as the national swimming organization, USA Swimming, did nothing when they reported their complaints in 2008.
The woman's parents found out from media reports that the coaches were still coaching young swimmers in another state.
Mirande and Dean have produced dozens of world-class swimmers, including Olympic qualifiers.
"They realized they were not alone and so they decided that she couldn't live with herself if she didn't speak up," Johnson said.
Johnson said at least three other lawsuits have been filed in other states against swimming coaches and some against USA Swimming Inc.
Olympian Deena Deardurff recently spoke out about her alleged sexual abuse from one of her coaches.
"I believed that my success in swimming was attributed to his coaching alone," Deardurff said. "And that abuse was something that I had to put up with or I was going to lose my swimming."
A USA Swimming spokesperson said it has been investigating the allegations of alleged sexual abuse for three months.
"Unfortunately, we have been unable to obtain critical information from the individual bringing forward the complaint, although other individuals with whom our investigator has spoken have been quite helpful," the organization said in a statement.
KCTV5 tried to contact Mirande in Virginia, but he could not be reached by phone.
