UNC collegiate club swimmer and former Pennsylvania prep-school standout Ryan Torie has been permanently banned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, appearing on USA Swimming’s banned list this week.
Torie appeared on the list yesterday, with his ban officially taking effect back on April 17. While the majority of the banned list is coaches, Torie appears to have been an athlete member of USA Swimming. He was a 2016 high school grad from Springside Chestnut Hill Academy, and also competed for the Germantown Academy Aquatic Club. He broke a handful of notable pool records as a high school swimmer. He verbally committed to swim at the NCAA level for UNC, but never appeared on the roster or logged an official swim with the team.
A representative for UNC told us that no one by the name of Ryan Torie ever swam for UNC, but had no information on what happened between Torie being listed as an incoming freshman in August 2016 and not making his way to the roster for the 2016-2017 season.
Torie’s name does appear in results of the 2018 Collegiate Club Swim & Dive National Championships, held from April 6-8. That’s just over a week before his ban began. Torie swam for UNC’s club team.
Torie’s ban is listed as a violation of the SafeSport Code. Though it’s now the U.S. Center for SafeSport that investigates and bans coaches and athletes for those violations, the Center says it doesn’t speak about individual cases. We’ve been unable to find any news or legal documents involving Torie, so we at this point know only that he is banned, without detail as to why. The Center’s database of disciplinary records only says “criminal disposition – involving a minor” with Torie’s ban.
Update: Pennsylvania court records show that Torie pleaded guilty on December 20 to statutory sexual assault. The specific charges include “4-8 years older” as well as “corruption of minors – defendant age 18 or above” and “unlawful contact with a minor – sexual offenses.” Torie only pleaded guilty to the statutory sexual assault: 4-8 years older charge, per court documents.
Correction: A previous edition of this article said that Ryan was a graduate from Germantown Academy. He did compete for the USA Swimming club called the Germantown Academy Aquatic Club, but scholastically attended and swam for Springside Chestnut Hill Academy.
I don’t mean to come across as blaming the victim. I’m just saying that, as the community knows, these were two kids dating. Two kids doing something that they both knew was legally wrong, but only a little bit, they thought, because of the four months thing. So it would probably be ok, they thought. But one of them, the older one obviously, should have known better and not taken the risk. He certainly knows that now!! This may mean he’s an idiot, but I hate to see him branded as a “child rapist “ for the rest of his life. And no, I’m not related to the defendant. I’m just a person who knows what the definitions of ASSAULT… Read more »
There is no “little bit wrong.” Not in this context. “Guilty” or “not guilty” are two very separate determinations. RT’s lawyer is one of the best in PA; certainly in Montgomery County. He knew that and would have absolutely advised RT of the consequences before the guilty plea was entered. And IF the “community” knew that this relationship was ongoing, what steps did any other adults, parents, coaches, etc. take to stop it since the relationship WAS illegal????? RT was not convicted of “rape” but the law defines his conduct as assault. Assault does not require brutality — in fact “simple assault” doesn’t even require physical harm to the victim. Another question is how many mandated reporters knew and failed… Read more »
http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20180606/lower-gwynedd-man-faces-jail-for-sex-with-underage-girl
He was 20. She was 15. They missed the it’s-legal rule in PA by four months in age. They loved and cared deeply for each other, and did something which is legal in many states but unfortunately for them, not in PA. Their young love was invincible, they thought. Now he’s a considered a child rapist.
Well her parents clearly disagree with your assement of the situation. Do you have a 15 year old daughter? I think not. You sound a lot like one of RT’s bros.
And therein lies the rub.
Since they were open and obvious with the relationship why on earth did the coaches look the other way? They aren’t stupid 20 year olds. Safe Sport should look at the entire program.
The whole concept of statutory sexual assault is to protect younger kids (of either gender) from being victimized by those who are older than they are. PA sets a four year age differential BECAUSE adolescents are more likely to be enthralled by an older person (male or female) showing interest in them. A good, non-swimming example is what about a 22 year old female teacher having an affair with a 17 year old male student? Although there is a separate law that covers that scenario, the rationale is the same — sometimes we need to protect minors from themselves AND punish those who take advantage of them. There are different crimes that fit different circumstances, it the theory is that… Read more »
She had made that decision innumerable times before, and was very vocal about it.
So now you are blaming the 15 year old girl?? You are basically saying, “she asked for it”. You need help. “HE” deserves whatever time in jail the Judge gives him.
It’s not something “I’m saying”. It’s a fact.
You are either a monster or one of RT’s parents. Or all of the above. Good luck.
Great reply. Everything you put on here from a legal viewpoint is correct, but is why many think that these cases need to be individualized. The one size fits all legal remedies are simply not adequate. However, I do need to point out that you make the argument about brain development, but fail to point out that a 20 year old does not have a fully developed brain either. And even more problematic is that males, because of this, are less risk adverse and take part in all types of risky behaviors including having relationships with inappropriate people. Should that also be taken as part of the equation when adjudicating these types of cases?
Interesting question since, when the Supremes decided “we don’ execute juveniles,” my immediate response was the the science used clearly refers to a lack of development up through the mid twenties. Unfortunately, the age of legal adulthood has been “set” (except for alcohol) at 18 so that’s the age. The defendant’s age is a sentencing factor as are the circumstances of the particular case. He’s got no priors so he’ll be facing a relatively light sentence. He may be eligible for boot camp which could further lighten the sentence itself.
But none of that lightens the SORNA (reporting) rules. The Court has no discretion on that because the crime dictates the “tier” for reporting and for how long. There… Read more »
I note that the age difference law makes sense. If you have two HS students getting involved, then the statutory rape issue seems to be negated???? The cases of seniors, over 18yo, who gets involved with a freshman are avoided?
Whatever. Stop making excuses. It’s illegal. He’s a pedophile. We are a nation of laws. And white boys from wealthy families don’t get free passes anymore.
I’m not making excuses, I’m discussing widely known facts. And yes, it was illegal. That’s why he plead guilty. He should have stayed away, but they believed their young love could carry the complication. Driving 59 mph in a 55 mile zone is also illegal, but no one has ever gone to jail for that; been banned for life from driving for that; been marked as a felon for that.
Please do not compare rape to speeding-it’s incredibly ignorant and offensive. When someone makes the choice to (just) speed, there are no victims. When someone inappropriately decides to sexually abuse and rape a child, there is a victim who could potentially live the rest of their life with psychological issues. Even if this teenager thought she was in love with this adult man, it is unlikely that their relationship was a healthy one with an equal balance of power. This is why we have statutory rape laws.
Just to be clear: you are trying to equate the penalties of statutory rape with those of speeding, right? I wanted to be sure I read that correctly.
“carry the complication”?? Going 4 miles over the speed limit = statutory rape? HIMTOO is off the rails. HIMTOO sounds like Ryan Torie or his family. Good luck. Judge Silow will read your comments ducking reposibility and blaming the victim and take that into account when issuing a sentence.
Himtoo. In your posts you claim it is “fact” that this minor child was very experienced and vocal about it (slut shaming), then claim the perp and this minor child were in love (justification), and that raping a child is just like driving 59 in a 55 speed limit zone (more justification). Therein is the root problem.
I agree 100%! As we saw with the Brock Turner fiasco, not only was he sentenced to an impossibly short stint, but he and his Dad (famously) took no accountability for it (“…for 20 minutes of action..”). It’s absolutely clear that not only do we have double standards in legal punishment, where the poor and minority offenders bear the brunt of punishment, but these snobby white kids don’t serve time, and worse yet, believe they are above these crimes.
“He comes from a great neighborhood/school/family/church” is NOT an acceptable reason to slap a kid on the wrist, and I hope we stop hearing this kind of excuse soon. Make an example.
The judge in the case has some rulings from other cases raising eyebrows, including a similar BT’s case… https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2018/05/11/analysis-of-judge-perskys-pattern-cases
And Brock Turner still is NOT on the banned list.
So do you think Germantown Academy Aquatic Club continues to keep Ryan Torie’s name on the record board?
Good question right.
Taking his name off the record board would be the dignified thing to do especially if the girl who was sexually assaulted still swims for GAAC. Idk what the precedent is for this type of thing but it seems those that are criminally convicted have honorary degrees and awards stripped from them….plus why would GAAC or Germantown Academy (the private school where GAAC trains) want a convicted pedaphile on their record board?
To me, the best discussion of the matter, for the powers that be (of which I am not one), takes the exact case out of the mix. The discussion becomes a policy choice: is the record board there to signify an honor, to bestow positive fame upon the individual, or is the record board there to serve as an accurate reflection of history, and what happened in that pool.
One compromise could be to leave the time up, but remove the athlete’s name, until the record is broken – and make this the policy whenever a record-holder has been convicted of a serious crime.
A way to avoid having to draw a line in the sand would be to simply… Read more »
I agree that Safe Sport could do far more in terms of transparency. FYI, you can find a little more information by utilizing their disciplinary records search:
https://safesport.org/userviolations/search
In this case, Torie is listed as having been ruled permanently ineligible for “criminal disposition – involving a minor”.
FYI: It already says that exact thing in the article.
He has pled guilty to Statutory Sexual Assault with a victim 4-8 years younger than himself in Montgomery County, PA (yes, the Cosby County). Like Cosby, he has been convicted — that’s what a plea does — but not sentenced yet. Under PA law, he will have to register as a sexual offender. It’s all public record ( https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-46-CR-0006701-2017) not rumor or “fake news.” The Pennsylvania unified judicial system has the information. SafeSport made the exact right choice; not sure when offense was made known to them. Plea happened in December of 2017. Sentencing takes some time with sexual offenses.
When did sexual offense take place, was it when he trained at Germantown? My understanding is that accused was recruited to swim at GAAC by current coach
After the accused had issues at another club.
Complaint was filed on August 21, 2017.
awful. apparently the victim was very much a minor. He was not.
Where are you getting your information from?
There are a LOT of people who know this story firsthand.
here you go swimmerswammer
https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-46-CR-0006701-2017
When you say “apparently the victim was very much a minor,” do you know something more than what it says in the article? Without more information, it’s hard to say exactly how awful it might be.
yes. this was statutory rape. it hurts to even type it.
Okay, but you can’t throw stuff around like that without a source.
https://ujsportal.pacourts.us/DocketSheets/CPReport.ashx?docketNumber=CP-46-CR-0006701-2017
You actually can. This is a message board. You can speak freely within the boundaries of moderation. The media has a responsibility to corroborate and confirm sources. Message board commentators are not held to that standard. My guess is that a lot of things the media would like to say, but can’t, are revealed on here.
Please be careful folks. There are a lot of girls, and families of girls, right now taking advantage of the Me Too movement, and throwing around false or wildly exaggerated sexual assault claims for a variety of reasons. Revenge, maybe Daddy or boyfriend found out about a relationship and got mad, maybe just for 15 minutes of fame. A lot of young men are falling victim to this and literally having their lives, and their families lives torn apart. This happened to my brother, and to several of my own son’s acquaintances. As much as we all need to do what we can to protect our daughters, I believe we all need to ask who in the line of justice… Read more »
Is your last name Trump or Weinstein?
I think his last name is Snarky.
Snarky don’t touch children.
Oh good lord
Their mothers are looking out for their sons and making sure they understand that they never have the right to do what they want, say what they want or guesture how they want. They must always be mindful of their thoughts and understand that they are expected to control them always. My sons watch a YouTube cartoon analogy of those who want “tea” frequently. We talk frequently, regardless of how uncomfortable they may be. Never will they be the guys that I had to deal with.
What is wrong with you?? It’s comments like this that silence and shame victims.
It’s simple, really. If we want to end this kind of abuse, teach boys and young men accountability and respect for girls and women. Teach them not to be jackasses. Teach them to treat girls and women as humans. Calling out girls and women for inventing allegations is just plain wrong.
Who votes up that kind of BS??!!! Lots of girls taking advantage? Lots? Really? I agree that examination of the situation should be thorough and careful, as the charges are serious and the consequences are serious. But lots of girls and their families are taking advantage of the MeToo movement? What century is this?
He pled guilty.
We know incidents of sexual assault are not falsely reported at higher rates than other crimes. Please do not traffic in platitudes or crate false dichotomies when discussing sexual misconduct. I would also point out that coming forward as a victim of rape can be seriously risky for victims. If you want to do some reading on this subject, there’s a link below.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1077801210387747
Just so you know, the article linked says nothing about wether sexual assaults are or are not reported at higher rates than other crimes. Did you even read the article? It is an excellent article and says some really interesting things for anyone interested in this subject. Published in 2010 it looked at 138 cases of reported sexual assault over a 10 year period on one college campus. It found, using the accepted coding of false reports that 5.9% were actual false reports; that is the event did not happen. That is right in the middle of various studies that found between 2.1% and 10.9% of false reports. There is a great discussion on the categories coding and how that… Read more »
read the link…. The list of charges indicate he was communicating with a victim who was no older than 14 or 15 assuming he was 18 or 19 at the time.
HE PLED GUILTY TO STATUTORY RAPE! That has nothing to do with Me Too movement.
Hate to brake it to you but your “sons” can do some pretty messed up stuff. How bout you do them a solid and teach them to take responsibility for their actions.
Torie never represented or competed for the UNC Swimming and Diving team. He also did not appear on the teams roster.