Former Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) board president Mark Black was deemed ineligible indefinitely by the U.S. Center for SafeSport on Friday after being indicted by a grand jury on child pornography and sexual coercion charges in November.
Black, 50, is accused of creating, advertising, distributing, and receiving child pornography from 2018 until last June, according to federal court documents. He also allegedly coerced minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography on multiple occasions in 2019, 2022, and 2023.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia told ARLnow that Black faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 to 30 years for conspiracy to produce child pornography, 15 to 30 years for conspiracy to advertise child pornography, 15 to 30 years for production of child pornography, 10 to life for coercion and enticement, and 5 to 20 for both receipt and distribution. The average sentence for federal child pornography charges was just over nine years in 2022.
Black first entered SafeSport’s disciplinary database last summer, around the time authorities say they found him in possession of child pornography. He was taken into custody in September, the same month he was issued an indefinite suspension by SafeSport. His trial is set for February 27.
AAC is a Virginia-based club that earned silver medal status in USA Swimming’s 2022-23 excellence program. AAC produced a Tokyo Olympian two summers ago and achieved gold medal certification for the first time in 2021-22. Attempts at reaching the club for comment were again unsuccessful.
Dear lord 😱
“Since 1974, the Arlington Aquatic Club (AAC) has provided a safe, positive and productive environment for athletes of all ages and abilities to help them achieve their fullest potential as both swimmers and people. AAC has produced Potomac Valley, Zone, Junior National, and World Junior Champions, as well as Senior National finalists, Olympic Trials qualifiers and Olympians.“
👀 yikes
The team records are up to date, why not the front page of their site?
Kiddie porn is just f-ing disgusting. 30 years isn’t enough.
And the article says 9 years is average sentence. I sure hope someone producing child porn get more than the average of 9 years.
Not a good look for AAC!
You done messed up Mark!