Jamie Thomas, USA Swimming Club Owner, Arrested on Misdemeanor Sexual Conduct Charge

Jamie Thomas, who is the owner and formerly the head coach of New South Swimming in North Carolina, has been charged with misdemeanor sexual misconduct after being arrested in Alabama, and has been released on a $500 bond according to the Charlotte Observer.

Thomas was arrested on September 18th, though he has been on leave from coaching since July.

According to the Observer, Thomas accepted a temporary suspension from USA Swimming pending the outcome of the proceedings.

New South Swimming has produced several high-level swimmers in the last decade, including at least one former National Team member.

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SwimMa
10 years ago

Parents should remember that it is never a good idea to allow your child to be in a position where they would be vulnerable to a predator.
I always accompanied my swimmer and was often derided for not allowing my swimmer to travel alone to meets with the coach. When I saw one coach acting inappropriately I reported it to LSC. But was told it was not anything they worried about as they allowed teams owned by Coaches to police themselves. Many times parents think that if their swimmer is singled out by a coach and taken on trips individually, it is a good thing. But it isn’t always and any time you have a coach that insists that… Read more »

baxter
Reply to  SwimMa
10 years ago

very good advice…from a coach to a parent, thank you

Amanda
10 years ago

He turned himself in. Innocent until proven guilty doesn’t apply when there is an admission of guilt.

So Very Opinionated
Reply to  Amanda
10 years ago

Turning yourself in means you aren’t fleeing from charges. It doesn’t mean you are admitting guilt.

Running away and hiding makes you look guilty. I don’t know what he is accused of, nor do I know if he did whatever it is he’s supposed to have done, but turning yourself in means confronting the accusations, not admitting to them.

Patience
10 years ago

What happened to “innocent until proven guilty?” People are acting like a trial has already happened a verdict has been reached. An accusation is not always a truth. And does anyone know exactly what he’s being accused of? Does anyone know what he did? Or are people just assuming the worst? A $500 bond isn’t a lot…

I know several of his top level swimmers, and they’re staying with the team. That should say a lot right there.

Coach
10 years ago

Obviously he didn’t want this to surface, apparently it occurred January 2013. The article stated he wanted to take a “break,” sorry he was hoping it would go away. He can’t return to the sport in any capacity.

Patience
Reply to  Coach
10 years ago

Of course he didn’t want this to surface, who wants the whole swimming world to know that you’ve been accused of sexual misconduct? Not wanting people to know of the accusation does not make him guilty. Even if he turns out to be innocent, his reputation is forever tarnished.

Coach
Reply to  Patience
10 years ago

I stand corrected, many of his top swimmers stayed. $500.00 bond is like a traffic ticket I guess.

Parent
10 years ago

Thankfully, this has been made public. Many in the Charlotte swim community have heard rumors about this incident for quite some time. I would hope that backgroud checks would prohibit him from working around children in the future. It’s disgusting, a coach doing this, someone who the child probably looked up to.

Dave
10 years ago

Does it have something to do with the fact that swim coaches spend so much time with their “pupils,” more time than their parents can ever be around to supervise?

Brian M
10 years ago

What in the he** is up with all of the deviant swim coaches? I was a USAS coach for many years and really enjoy the sport of swimming, but I am really becoming hesitant on letting my children swim year-round. It seems like something like this pops once a month here lately.

SCAQ Tony
Reply to  Brian M
10 years ago

My personal fast answer: Sexualizing children on runways, beauty contests, media and even MTV (I am looking at you Hanna Montana). Substantially more girls swimming than boys (most of the molesters are men). Accessible child porn on the internet and the complete and total breakdown of character and personal restraint.

Reply to  SCAQ Tony
10 years ago

hannah montana is dead and burried. we’re seeing miley cyrus as the adult this child grew up into. that plus said internet comments should sum it up. swimming is not alone in this. it just seems swimming is a more tightly knit community word gets around faster

ccr
Reply to  Brian M
10 years ago

These are just the cases that make it to the news. I’m sure there are many, many, many more cases that will never see the light of day. I know of two cases that were reported to USA Swimming and are being investigated by law enforcement but have not made it in the news. I know that some cities do not publish crime reports so their property values stay high.

Perspective
Reply to  Brian M
10 years ago

It is easy to get caught in the trap of assuming that the problems faced with USAS is somehow worse than the problem in general society, but we all need to get some perspective. We are reading news that pertains to swimming, so news reports on deviant SWIM coaches is what is reported.

If instead, we were on a news site devoted to soccer or teachers, we would likely be shocked at the number of deviants in those fields too. A quick google search will demonstrate that those two occupations have there fair share of deviants as well.

coach
10 years ago

can usa-s prevent a person from owning the business? that seems like a violation of the constitutional rights.

Really
Reply to  coach
10 years ago

So after an arrest of this nature the club owner can earn money from a youth sport? That’s the constitutional right you are fighting for?

SCAQ TOny
Reply to  Really
10 years ago

Yes, the predator has that constitutional right.

You can be banned as a coach by USA Swimming but it is up to the law, generally via parole or the probational system, from disallowing the predator to work or be around youth activities in exchange for freedom.

Really
Reply to  SCAQ TOny
10 years ago

Wow, so as a club owner he or she could be on deck “managing” his/her business?

SCAQ Tony
Reply to  Really
10 years ago

Unfortunately, yes, that is if the predator was found not guilty or served out the entirety of his/her prison sentence and accepted no parole and rhetorically “paid their debt to society.”

About Braden Keith

Braden Keith

Braden Keith is the Editor-in-Chief and a co-founder/co-owner of SwimSwam.com. He first got his feet wet by building The Swimmers' Circle beginning in January 2010, and now comes to SwimSwam to use that experience and help build a new leader in the sport of swimming. Aside from his life on the InterWet, …

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