USA Diving received numerous reports of sexual abuse that it failed to report to law enforcement, according to a lawsuit that further contends that "coaches and officials who were the subject of these complaints are still coaching children in USA Diving."
The latest lawsuit against the Indianapolis-based organization is separate from one filed by the same law firm in July.
Former U.S. Olympic coach John Wingfield and his Arcadia, Indiana, diving club known as RipFest are also named as defendants. The lawsuit alleges they failed to protect female athletes from sexual abuse by a coach, Johel Ramirez, who was convicted last month of battery.
Wingfield and his club allowed "a culture that tolerated sexual harassment, objectification, assault and abuse," the lawsuit said.
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A spokesman for RipFest Diving said in a statement that the organization has "zero tolerance for this type of behavior."
"Last year, when we became aware of allegations against Ramirez, we immediately removed him from our program, instructed him not to return to our facility pending the outcome of the investigation and terminated him," the statement said. "RipFest Diving remains committed to providing the highest quality training for our diving students in an extremely professional and safe environment."
USA Diving did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Ramirez, the coach convicted of battery in Hamilton County, is also named as a defendant. He was sentenced to more than a year and a half in jail after pleading guilty last month to three counts of battery. Several counts were dismissed, including 10 involving sexual abuse.
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit accuses Ramirez of attempted digital penetration while she was sleeping in a Ripfest dorm in Fall 2016. She is anonymous in the lawsuit.
Another plaintiff, who is named in the lawsuit, says that on 12 occasions Ramirez touched and rubbed her vulva from outside of her swimsuit while he was stretching her. IndyStar doesn't typically name victims described in sexual abuse cases.
The lawsuit says "numerous" athletes complained to Wingfield that Ramirez touched them in the same manner as the woman who is named in the lawsuit.
Wingfield is alleged to have told the athletes that Ramirez is "Venezuelan, and that is just how they are."
RipFest rented high school pools for practice, including those at North Central, Fishers, Noblesville and Hamilton Heights, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit mentions two other RipFest coaches, neither of whom is named as a defendant, who engaged in alleged inappropriate conduct. One was accused of trying to solicit nude photos from female divers and sending them pictures of his penis.
Another is accused of "sexually inappropriate interactions" with female teenage divers.
Call Mark Alesia 317-444-6311. Follow him on Twitter: @markalesia.
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