A senior district judge in Massachusetts has dismissed Amanda Le’s (plaintiff) claim of violations against the Trafficking Victims Protection Act by USA Swimming, New England Swimming, and Michelle Sweeney, the daughter of longtime coach Joe Bernal (defendants); however, he has allowed her claim of negligent supervision to proceed.
Le claims that when she was a member of Bernal’s Gator Swim Club from 2008 to 2015, the well-known New England swimming coach initiated a sexual relationship with her. She further states that despite being aware of Bernal’s misconduct, Sweeney and USA Swimming, its New England chapter, took no action to halt it, instead preserving his reputation and position in the sport.
Bernal coached at Harvard University and was inducted into the American Swimming Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2015, but was banned for life by USA Swimming the following year for sexual abuse. After the ban, ASCA and Fordham University rescinded his Hall of Fame honors. Bernal died in 2022.
Le filed her lawsuit in June 2024, claiming three allegations: violations of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), battery by sexual assault, and negligent supervision/conduct contributing to the sexual abuse of a minor. This move for dismissal by the defendants looked to dismiss the claims of the TVPA violations and negligence claims.
The full case documentation can be read here.
The TVPA claim was dismissed in August 2025 by Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, who determined that it was prohibited by the statute of limitations under federal law, which permits plaintiffs 10 years to file TVPA claims. The court determined that Le could not advance on that count as she filed after that deadline.
According to official court documents, the court granted Le’s claim of negligence to proceed, which carries a seven year statue of limitations period, unlike the first claim, which carries a 10 year statute, Judge Gorton concluded that Le had made a credible allegation that Sweeney, USA Swimming, and New England Swimming may have knowingly concealed Bernal’s misconduct, preventing her from pursuing her claim sooner.
Although Le’s claim falls outside of the seven years of the statute of limitations, she argued that the time should be tolled until 2023, because that’s when she discovered the extent of USA Swimming and New England Swimming’s involvement. Usually, the statute of limitations could be tolled no later than 2022, seven years after Le first reported harm caused by the abuse, but she was able to provide enough facts alleging concealment that the case will move forward.
That was sufficient to maintain the negligence claim and advance the case into the discovery stage, which involves gathering testimony and supporting documentation.
It’s amazing how two of the East Coast’s most famous club coaches (Joe Bernal & Dick Shoulberg) operated with the same playbook with the “under the table” so called, “scholarships”, and got away with it for so many years. “Hey, we’ll give you a scholarship and that gives us the freedom to bully and sexually abuse you!” The Bernals Gators & Germantown Academy scholarships ended up being the “gift” that kept on giving, and not in a good way… Very sad, especially for Amanda Le.
Nice legacy you left your family, Joe
He was so selfish, can’t believe this is the legacy he left for his family.
First, thank you SwimSwam for continuing to publish this information, it’s incredibly important that the creeps see women taking their power.
I wish her the best as she seeks to expose the system which betrayed her.