Judge Blasts SafeSport For ‘Perpetuating Fraud’ and Withholding Evidence In 2022 Case

A Florida judge ripped into the U.S. Center for SafeSport for perpetuating fraud and intentionally withholding evidence in a criminal case from 2022 involving a teen water polo player whose own complaint resulted in her being arrested.

In a ruling pertaining to the expunction of misdemeanor charges against the female water polo player on Tuesday, Feb. 25, Seminole County judge John Woodard said SafeSport violated the woman’s due process rights by withholding evidence that would have cleared her. Even after prosecutors recognized there was no basis for the charges, SafeSport continued to stonewall her, Woodard added.

“SafeSport acted in bad faith, intentionally and with malice,” Woodard said in his ruling, adding that “the court finds the evidence of fraud, collusion, pretense, and similar wrongdoing to be clear, convincing, intentional, and beyond doubt.”

Woodard’s Supplemental Order reads:

“ORDERED AND ADJUDGED: a) that the United States Center for SafeSport, Inc., perpetrated a fraud upon the Court, the People of the State of Florida, the Sheriff’s Office, the State’s Attorney Office, and defendant; b) that the United States Center for SafeSport, Inc., intentionally withheld exculpatory evidence; c) that the United States Center for SafeSport, Inc., acted in bad faith, intentionally, and with malice; and d) that the court finds the evidence of fraud, collusion, pretense, and similar wrongdoing to be clear, convincing, intentional, and beyond doubt.”

SafeSport responded to the order, calling it a “stunt designed to interfere in the Center’s ability to hold individuals accountable for sexual misconduct.”

“The Order is without jurisdictional, factual, or legal basis and the Center is weighing its legal response,” SafeSport said in a statement, according to USA Today. “The Center was not a party to this criminal proceeding. As such we were never notified, never appeared, and were never afforded an opportunity to present evidence or arguments to refute the false information provided by the lawyer to the court in this case.”

Created in 2017 by Congress to handle abuse complaints in Olympic sports, SafeSport has been heavily criticized in recent years for lengthy delays in resolving complaints and having investigative and appeals processes that both sides deem unfair and insensitive.

The order by Woodard is the first time the organization has been hammered to this extent in court, however.

The case is related to the 2022 arrest of Kelsey McMullan, a water polo player from Florida who reported bullying by her teammates to SafeSport. During the investigation, a SafeSport investigator interviewed a witness who implicated McMullan in an assault.

McMullan, 18, at the time, was then arrested by police on her high school campus for battery.

McMullan was able to provide evidence refuting the accusations against her, including one of her teammates acknowledging that what she’d told police was not true. The charges against McMullan were then dropped 15 months later.

Woodard’s ruling on Tuesday ripped SafeSport for not providing McMullan earlier with evidence it knew would clear her, and he also laid into the organization for refusing to cooperate when police and prosecutors opted to investigate the other woman for falsiciation of a report.

“The exculpatory information is and was within the knowledge, custody and control of SafeSport,” Woodward wrote.

“The exculpatory information is and was within a SafeSport file that was the subject of numerous court orders and properly issued subpoenas. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office, the State’s Attorney Office and defense counsel went above and beyond any duty, and made every reasonable and good faith effort to obtain the exculpatory material and compliance by SafeSport to no avail.”

Woodard ordered that the charges against McMullan be permanently erased, making it as if the case never happened.

McMullan’s attorney, Russell Prince, said the trauma McMullan has incurred fighting the charges is something that can’t be erased, however.

“The Center is irreparably broken and serves neither claimants or respondents in a fundamentally fair and lawful manner,” Prince said, according to USA Today. “These actions are consistent with a pattern of conduct that the Center employs on a regular basis. This time, they were finally held accountable according to commonly accepted standards of fairness and due process.”