News broke last week that former Mission Viejo Nadadores assistant coach Daniel Ad’m Dusenbury “may face a lifetime ban from swimming following allegations that he had sex with an underage female Nadadores swimmer” according to the Orange County Register.
Interviews with Nadadores officials, parents and others indicate that Nadadores coaches and officials may have suspected as early as 2006 that Dusenbury, then 28, was involved with a then 16-year-old Nadadores swimmer, who also attended Aliso Niguel High School. Some coaches and club officials continued to discount evidence that surfaced in recent months that appears to confirm that Dusenbury had a sexual relationship with the girl that lasted more than four years.
Even when club officials began to look into the allegations last year, Dusenbury was allowed to continue coaching without agreed-upon supervision, including holding private unsupervised lessons with underage swimmers, according to club officials.
And get this,
A DVD provided to Nadadores officials and obtained by the Register contains photos of a 2006 diary in which Dusenbury and the girl purportedly chronicle their relationship, in often intimate detail, including dates and places where sex acts occurred. The diary also reveals that as early as May 2006, Dusenbury, who goes by Ad’m, believed Nadadores coaches were suspicious of his relationship with the girl, but continued to become more involved with her. The DVD also contains photos of a teenage girl in her underwear in Dusenbury’s apartment and seated on his bed. Club officials and Nadadores parents have identified the girl as the former Aliso Niguel student.
Dusenbury, now 34, is viewed in swimming circles as being on the cutting edge in his use of video and computer technology in his coaching. He has his own line of instructional videos that one swimming website described as the “world’s best coaching DVDs.” He resigned his position with the Nadadores in October 22, 2011.
Under California law, it is unlawful for a person 18 or older to have sexual intercourse with a person under 18 years of age. If there is a three year or more age difference, the adult could face felony charges, according to prosecutors at the Orange County District Attorney’s office. If the adult is considered to hold a position of trust over the minor and is convicted, prosecutors would likely ask that the perpetrator be required to register under the California Sex Offender Registration Act, better known as Megan’s Law. A swim coach is considered to be in such a position of trust, O.C. prosecutors said.
Read more here on The Orange County Register, there is also a statement from Mission Viejo Nadadores here on SwimmingWorld Magazine.
Leave a Reply