James Sutherland contributed to this report.
David Laudati, a former swim coach in Arizona, has been ruled ineligible by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, effective September 17, 2024. He was previously temporarily suspended, but that status was updated for “criminal disposition” of the case, though Maricopa County court records show that he pleaded not guilty and the case is still going through pre-trial motions.
The “ineligible” status, without a “permanent” qualifier, means that the window for arbitration is still open. The status is updated after the window for arbitration closes.
Laudati, 41, was arrested by the Connecticut U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force and Newington Police Department in July and faces 19 felony charges in Maricopa County, Arizona, authorities reported.
Laudati was charged with 11 counts of voyeurism and eight counts of attempt to commit voyeurism stemming from allegations following a September 2023 investigation by the Buckeye Police Department in Arizona.
The investigation found that Laudati secretly recorded student-athletes in the changeroom.
He was apprehended by the Buckeye Police Department and U.S. Marshals on Monday at his home in Newington, Conn.
Laudati was employed as a swim coach at Millenium High School in Goodyear, Ariz., and the Arizona Dolphins swim team prior to the investigation. He was suspended by the Agua Fria High School District and barred from all school campuses in the district and directed not to have contact with any students once the investigation began.
On Sept. 9, 2023, a parent contacted the Buckeye Police Department informing them that their 14-year-old daughter was changing after swim practice and noticed a cell phone in the restroom at the Center on Main Pool in Verrado, Ariz., shortly after Laudati had finished coaching an Arizona Dolphins practice.
Police said the phone was found recording in a mesh pocket in Laudati’s backpack, which was left on top of a changing table.
The Buckeye Police Special Victims Unit obtained a search warrant for Laudati’s home on Sept. 11 and seized his phone. During forensic testing, detectives were able to locate several photos showing female minors partially undressed or nude in the Center on Main restroom and the Litchfield Park Recreation Center locker room. A total of three victims were identified between 14 and 17 years of age.
On July 16, 2024, Laudati was indicted by the Maricopa County Grand Jury after evidence was presented.
He will be extradited back to Maricopa County to face the charges against him.
Newington police said he was detained on a $500,000 bond and was set to face a judge in New Britain on Tuesday.
Laudati was also previously employed as a swim coach at the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford, Conn., as recently as 2019.
In 2022, he was the Arizona Republic’s High School boys’ swim coach of the year.
On August 5, 2024, Laudati was given a temporary suspension by USA Swimming and listed in the U.S. Center for SafeSport database under allegations of misconduct.
What is wrong with these losers???
Loser
I hate to say it, but it has become increasingly clear to me as I progress through life that you can really *see* these things in people at first glance with 80% of cases
Pretty much the definition of prejudice
This guy sucks and I have no qualms with him rotting in prison.
That being said, is anybody gonna look normal in a mugshot? I feel like most people would look sad + regretful directly into the camera for something like this.
When (if) I’m a parent I’d love to have a functioning ____-dar, I just feel like it discredits parents on the team when someone comments “yeah i would’ve known” when like clearly they didn’t
He’s not regretful and neither is anyone who gets arrested for this sick stuff. If you’re going to guess at what his facial expression shows, it’s that he is really upset that he got caught. The fact that he allegedly did this multiple times clearly shows he didn’t have regret the first time nor any time he did this.
Yeah I’m not trying to analyze the emotional state of this guy, my point was that most people getting caught for this stuff are gonna have similar mug shots, and that identifying them on the internet after the fact is a little bit easier than irl before you know they did it.
No you can’t. This is called confirmation bias and it’s how we get witch hunts, satanic panics, antisemitic conspiracy theories etc…
Enjoy GenPop.
At first just his picture loaded, and I thought, if this isn’t a safesport article, I’ll jump in the lake
What a creep
I thought it was a January 6th guy
Same caliber
Can anybody match my freak?
Cease speaking immediately
Sorry this was in bad taste