A recent legal ruling by Seminole County Judge John Woodard in Florida has brought to light serious allegations against the U.S. Center for SafeSport. The judge accused the center of perpetrating fraud against the court and intentionally withholding exculpatory evidence in a case involving a teen water polo player.
The case in question involved Kelsey McMullen, who was arrested at her high school after a SafeSport investigator provided evidence to the police following a complaint by McMullen against a girl she accused of bullying her. The charges against McMullen were eventually dropped after a 14-month investigation.
Judge Woodard's ruling stated that prosecutors only received partial information from the center during their investigation and that the center refused to cooperate when law enforcement pursued new cases against McMullen's accusers and the center itself for reporting false information.
While the ruling does not impose any penalties on the center, it is a rare legal rebuke against an agency established in 2017 to combat sex abuse in Olympic sports. The center, however, dismissed the ruling as a 'stunt' aimed at undermining its efforts to hold individuals accountable for sexual misconduct.
In response to the ruling, the center explained that it declined to respond to subpoenas seeking sensitive information about claimants, citing jurisdictional issues that required the subpoenas to be served through a Colorado court.
McMullen's attorney, Russell Prince, expressed little surprise at the ruling, stating that the center's actions were consistent with a pattern of conduct that lacks fairness and due process. He emphasized that the ruling was a significant accountability measure against the center.
The court order accused the center of perpetrating a fraud, withholding evidence, and acting in bad faith with malice. The center, on the other hand, maintains that it was not properly involved in the criminal proceedings and is considering its legal response to the ruling.
This legal development sheds light on the complexities surrounding investigations into sexual misconduct in sports and underscores the importance of transparency and due process in such cases.
