Thursday, November 27, 2008

Be Thankful for the Courageous

We'll be hearing more on the Don King case in December. It's taken people with an incredible amount of courage to step forward and tell their stories.

Are you a new reader who'd like to catch up? The original post on the allegations was back in June of 2007. Read it here.

There have been many more posts (and reader comments) since then.

In April of this year, a post on the outcome of the trial went up. Read it here.

The site mentioned in the post is scheduled to be opened back up after an upcoming hearing.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Anyone with information should contact USA Swimming attorneys. There is no statute of limitations for USA Swimming.

As for the potential for a criminal case, the magic year for CA victims is after 1988.

I think the statute of limitations in OR is very tight, perhaps 5 years or maybe 6 years after a crime has occurred.

King has lived in OR for twenty years or more; therefore, CA victims beyond 1988 are unlikely unless it was an OR swimmer who was molested in CA during a meet sometime after 1988.

We feel very confident there are probably OR girls within the 5 year timeframe who may be able to contribute; however, young people have a particularly difficult time coming forward to report this type of crime, even with the support of other victims.

Anyone who is considering coming forward should know she will be supported by the police as they are very sensitive to this type of crime.

Coming forward is a very scary experience at first, but it is also rewarding and empowering. It is a great way to take your life back.

Phyllis said...

In 2004 a young woman committed suicide after indicating she had been raped by a coach at the Lake Oswego pool in August of 2003. The young woman did not provide the name of the rapist.

If you have any information regarding this rape or if you have been a victim of Don Kings abuse in Oregon I would suggest that you first hire an attorney to represent you and then notify the District Attorney where the abuse occurred or the State Attorney.

The Lake Oswego police failed to follow up on leads, were unable to make a case for presenting the evidence they had to the jury at Don Kings trial etc.

Also, the head of the Lake Oswego Swim Team was uninterested in discussing the issue of a predator with the members and parents of his club claiming that Don King was not a coach for his team. However, Don King in his duties as a lifequard, was around members of the swim club on a regular basis.

Anonymous said...

I found his resume off an old post. It may be helpful although it's my understanding some of his jobs are missing and other dates have been moved around slightly too.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Donald J. King• USS Swim Coach• Level V American Swim Coaches Association• American Red Cross Instruction• 1stAid/CPR, Lifeguarding• Past Member "Elite" Swim Coaches, United States SwimmingEDUCATION / QUALIFICATIONS•1958 Graduate, Sunnyvale High School, Sunnyvale, California•1958-1961 U.S. Army Paratrooper (Honorable Discharge)•1961-1971 General Manager, Greenmeadow Community Association, Palo Alto, California•1972-1976 General Manager, Head Coach, Kona Kai Swim & Racquet Club, Santa Clara, California•1976-1978 Assistant Coach, DeAnza Swim Club, Cupertino, California•1978-1980 Assistant Coach, Industry Hills Aquatic Club City of Industry, California•1978-1980 Assistant Coach, University of Southern California•1980-1982 Head Coach, Santa Clara Swim Club, Santa Clara, California•1982-1986 Head Coach, Mission City Swim Club, Santa Clara, California•1986-1988 Head Coach, The Oregon Project Swim Club, Lake Oswego, Oregon •1988-1991 Head Coach, Wilson High School, Portland, Oregon•1988-1997 Head Coach, PRIDE swim club, Lake Oswego, Oregon•1995-1997 Head Coach, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon•1997-1998 Head Coach, Madison High School, Portland, Oregon•1998 – 2001 Assistant Coach, Jesuit High School, Portland, OregonHe is currently on the staffs of Club Sports, Portland State and Lake Oswego Community SchoolACCOMPLISHMENTS:• 1981 Guest Japanese Swim association speaker in fourteen (14) cities with the American Red Cross Instructor 1stAid/CPR, Lifeguarding • Past member "Elite" swim coaches, United States Swimming

Anonymous said...

the victims of Don King are wondering how USA Swimming managed to act so quickly over Michael Phelps toking a bong once and not hurting a soul and yet, they wait an entire year to deal with Don King who has been accused by several women of raping them as children. Amazing! Consider doing a story exposing USA Swimming for sitting on their butts when it comes to protecting young girls but coming down hard on Phelps for something relatively minor in comparison.

Anonymous said...

This man is a scumbag - I know because he molested my girlfriend back around 1975-1975 when he was the head swim coach at Kona Kai swim & Racquet Club in Santa Clara, CA. I was a member of that club and new a lot of girls on the swim team. A lot of the girls thought he was a creep, as he was always flirting and hitting on them. He deserves to be in prison.

Anonymous said...

Wish I knew who you are- Kona Kai- I was molested by Don King at Kona Kai, too, ('74-'77) and recently reported it to USA Swimming and Santa Clara police. The list of his young victims is very long.

Anonymous said...

some of his victims are as young as 9!

Anonymous said...

will the new Kona Kai person please report the abuse to the police? Even though the Lake Oswego case is over, the police departments are keeping a record of victims and their reports. This will be helpful should he ever move his "tent" and start up somewhere else. Sexual predators cannot stop. He will do everything possible to put himself in a position to troll for young girls again. Those of us involved in the case have reason to believe there are up to 300 women who have been raped/molested by this animal. Please report your abuse to the Santa Clara PD. They have two police files there that I am aware of, several in Oregon and some in Southern CA too