Jon Beber (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office)
Authorities in Colorado are lauding the courage of a former elite swimmer who came forward 20 years after her coach sexually abused her when she was a teenager.
A judge sentenced 54-year-old Jon Beber to 42 years to life in prison after a jury convicted him of sexually abusing three teenagers on his swim team, according to Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty. The jury in April found him guilty of three counts of sexual assault on a child.
Beber was the coach of swim club Boulder Swimming from 1997 through 2002. He left the team after allegations of inappropriate conduct with underage girls surfaced and was confronted by parents. But no one alerted law enforcement. Dougherty said the investigation began nearly 20 years later when one of the victims came forward and wanted to know whether the statute of limitations had expired. Authorities began investigating and identified three victims. Prosecutors filed charges against Beber in 2022 and cops arrested him in Georgia where he was living.
Prosecutors say Beber coached teams in Albany, New York, Florida and Atlanta.
“This lengthy prison sentence is the right outcome. As the judge noted, this type of case is every parent’s worst nightmare,” Dougherty said in a statement. “Parents drop kids off for practice or school and hope that the adults in charge are not abusing their position of trust. This defendant did exactly that, for years. It is only because of the victims’ courage and perseverance that we were able to bring charges all these years later and secure justice for them and their families.”
Beber is also accused of being inappropriate with girls he coached at Dynamo Swim Club in the Atlanta area from 2008 to 2010, though he is not facing additional charges. Atlanta CBS affiliate spoke to a swimmer who described his alleged behavior.
“When we would gather around to do the sets he would sometimes get a little closer, and it would feel physically uncomfortable being in a swimsuit and everything,” said the unidentified woman, now in her 30s. “He would pat me on the back for no reason and stroke my shoulders, and he did that to a lot of the other female swimmers.”
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