A 2018 search of former swim coach Sean Hutchison‘s apartment by local police turned up no crimes within the statute of limitations, according to police documents obtained by SwimSwam.
The search took place in February of 2018, but the Des Moines (WA) Police Department only fulfilled SwimSwam’s request for public documents this month. An officer’s report of the case confirms that police obtained a search warrant and searched Hutchison’s apartment on February 6, 2018. Though police obtained some electronic devices, a Deputy Prosecuting Attorney with the county ultimately told police that the search “had not located a crime that occurred within the statute of limitations.”
Hutchison was a high-level swim coach in Washington who later took over a USA Swimming center of excellence for professional swimmers in California. His star pupil was 2012 U.S. Olympian Ariana Kukors, whom he had coached since she was 13. But Kukors, now Ariana Kukors Smith by marriage, came forward last year with allegations that Hutchison had groomed her from the age of 13 and started sexually abusing her when she was 16.
The abuses Kukors Smith alleges would have happened between about 2002 and 2007, when Kukors was between 13 and 17. Washington state law lists a statute of limitations on most sexual offenses against a minor at just 10 years, meaning crimes can’t be prosecuted more than 10 years after they allegedly happened. However, state laws also appear to allow some such crimes to be prosecuted up until the victim’s 30th birthday. Kukors Smith turned 30 in June of this year.
The police documents show that a member of the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office had told police as of April 16, 2019 (two months before Kukors turned 30) that the office “to this point has not located a crime that occurred within the statute of limitations.” We’ve asked the office if that remains the case, but have not yet received a response.
Update: the prosecuting attorney’s office gave us the following statement: “The Des Moines Police department did submit a case to our office earlier this year. Our office looked at the case and determined that the statute of limitation had expired for any potential crime that may have occurred, therefore we were unable to file any charges.”
Met him when my kid was really young and Ariana was the older idol. Sean gave me the creeps from the second I saw him. So many of the other parents seemed to worship him. Several coaches left suddenly, a few years before the story broke. Looking back, my gut was right.
The man has been moving around Southeast Asia since he fled the US. Afraid to return and defend the indefensible acts of a serial manipulator and groomer. Good, Stay gone. Creep. There is no statute of limitations on how unwelcome you are everywhere you think you are hiding. Justice will be served.
Has Sean been asked to return and defend himself? I don’t think this story is black and white, and I’m not convinced Sean will ever be convicted of any crime.
So even if they found evidence of crimes, it would have been past the statute of limitations.
This is sickening to see this come back up.
What part of this is sickening to you?
Does this surprise anyone?? He waited until she was an adult to have a relationship… she lived with him… her parents both knew about her living with him and supported it… she denied anything going on when pressed… I dont think this should surprise anyone
according to her, he didn’t wait.
That would be a federal crime and have no limit.
If that turns out to he true, the feds can do something.
The federal did not prosecute which means they found nothing to support her claim.
Just curious, have you seen anything that specifically says this? The only thing I’m seeing relates to state charges and local prosecutors. The feds tend to take a lot longer with things too.
Yes, it is a fact.
So what crimes did they find that the statute of limitations had expired??
Ariana was NOT training under Hutchinson when she made the 2012 Olympic team!
Officically? Seriously? How many of Bela Karolyi’s gymnasts were not officially under his tutelage? ‘officially’