The Delaware Department of Justice and Dover Police are seeking more information on a swim coach who was recently charged with sexual abuse.
Dover native Thomas Kennedy, 56, was initially arrested in late July for sexual abuse of a child by a person of trust after a young teen reported he’d been inappropriately touched by his former swim coach a few days earlier.
On September 26, Kennedy was charged for two counts of Sexual Abuse of a Child by a Person of Trust, 13 counts of Unlawful Sexual Contact Second Degree, and Sexual Solicitation of a minor.
According to a press release issued by the DOJ and Dover Police on Oct. 14, Kennedy served as a swim instructor at multiple YMCA facilities, the Siegel Jewish Community Center, and Maple Dale Country Club between 1997 and 2020. He also worked as a youth minister in the Dover area between 1998 and 2009.
“Following the investigation opened after his initial arrest in July, police have so far identified three additional victims and are now asking for anyone with additional information to come forward,” the press release said.
According to Delaware Online/The News Journal, court records found that investigators claim Kennedy was able to abuse young boys – the youngest being 11 – because of access he had to children and their families as a swim coach and youth adviser in different parts of Delaware.
Shortly after his initial arrest, three men, on separate occasions, went to Dover police to report that Kennedy had sexually assaulted them when they were boys.
The DOJ and Dover police are seeking anyone who has been victimized by Kennedy, or has additional information. You can contact Dover Police Department Detective Nolan Matthews at [email protected].
