Former Swim Coach Savannah Reis Indicted On Sexual Battery In Mississippi

Former swim coach and school district employee Savannah Reis has been indicted on two counts of sexual battery in Mississippi.

That’s according to the local NBC affiliate, WLBT3, which reports that Reis was indicted last Friday. The 34-year-old Reis was added to the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s banned database back in July. Reis was added under an interim measure, meaning an investigation into her is still ongoing and a final sanction yet to be handed down. Reis remains in the banned database on an interim measure, though her “decision date” has been updated from July 2019 to September 26, 2019. She was also previously listed as being under “suspension” and now is only listed as under “restriction.”

Reis was a swim coach at Performance Elite Aquatics (PEAQ) in Madison, Mississippi alongside her husband. She was also an employee at the Madison Station Elementary School, though the Clarion Ledger reports that she has never been associated with the school’s athletic programs. Reis was placed on leave prior to the 2019-2020 academic year.

Reis is listed in the SafeSport database as being from Brandon, Mississippi. Her ban is for allegations of misconduct and is an interim restriction. Per the Center for SafeSport’s glossary of terms, that means Reis is under certain restrictions – but not wholly suspended – while the Center completes its investigative process.

That slight change (from “suspension” to “restriction”) also means Reis does not currently appear on USA Swimming’s banned lists. USA Swimming only lists those suspended either permanently or temporarily. Since Reis is only restricted, she does not appear on USA Swimming’s lists, though the Center’s restrictions do still apply to Reis’s membership in any Olympic sport, swimming included.

Update: as of 10/22, Reis’s entry in the SafeSport database has been changed from “restriction” to “ineligible.” That means she’s permanently ineligible, but the window for an appeal could remain open in her case.