
A former high-level swimmer has filed a federal lawsuit accusing her Hall of Fame coach of sexually abusing her when she was a minor about 15 years ago. The lawsuit also alleges that USA Swimming and other organizations and individuals were aware of the abuse and failed to intervene.
The lawsuit, filed in US District Court in Massachusetts, names Joseph Bernal, a former Fordham and Harvard swim coach who coached multiple Olympic medalists and world record holders. Bernal, who was inducted into the American Swim Coaches Hall of Fame in 2015, founded the Bernal’s Gator Swim Club where the abuse allegedly took place.