Story at a glance
- USA Water Polo and the International Water Polo Club have settled a lawsuit for nearly $14 million.
- A dozen female water polo players accused a coach of sexual abuse, which the organizations were alleged to have failed to act on.
- The coach, Bahram Hojreh, is still facing criminal charges for sexual abuse stemming from 10 victims.
USA Water Polo and the International Water Polo Club have settled a lawsuit for nearly $14 million after a dozen female water polo players accused a coach of sexual abuse.
In the lawsuit, the players alleged the two organizations didn’t protect them from sexual abuse by coach Bahram Hojreh from 2012 to 2017, failing to take action even after receiving reports of the abuse during the summer of 2017.
The Orange County District Attorney is pursuing criminal charges against Hojreh, 45, including lewd acts on a child, sexual penetration with a foreign object, and sexual battery by fraud. He pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of sexual abuse stemming from 10 victims, with nine being children when the abuse occurred.
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SafeSport has instituted a lifetime ban on Hojreh from water polo, making Hojreh one of 10 people within USA Water Polo to be banned from the sport since 2018 because of criminal investigations, according to The Associated Press.
The $13.85 million settlement was filed on Friday in the Orange County Superior Court.
“We have heard the plaintiffs’ testimony, and their allegations are heartbreaking,” Christopher Ramsey, CEO of USA Water Polo, said in a statement. “We hope that this allows them to begin a new chapter in their lives.”
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