A Seattle-area swim coach caught on camera molesting a 13-year-old girl has been sentenced to six days in jail under a plea deal and banned for life by USA Swimming.
Patrick Roland Hamilton was arrested last summer after a 13-year-old girl told her parents he groped her during a training session. Hamilton said “I like touching your butt,” during the session, and local police said much of what the girl alleged was backed up by surveillance camera footage.
Hamilton originally pleaded not guilty to second degree child molestation, but later changed his plea, per the Washington courts website. He was sentenced this week to six days in jail along with a full year of probation. The sentence also includes ‘psycho-sexual evaluation/treatment’ and stipulates that Hamilton should have no ‘position of authority over minors including coaching.’ Sources say Hamilton’s sentence was part of a plea deal.
Hamilton was 47 when he was arrested, and was the founder of the Kitsap Swim Team, which started only a few months before his arrest. A local paper reported he had 10 swimmers on his team shortly before his arrest. Hamilton was a former swimmer at the University of Washington, and had also been arrested back in 2003 by an undercover prostitution sting. He was ordered to fulfill community service to have that charge dismissed.
Per his LinkedIn page, Hamilton also worked briefly at King Aquatic Club, which is currently in the news as longtime coach and club CEO Sean Hutchison stands accused of grooming and sexually abusing Ariana Kukors when she was a teen. Hamilton and Hutchison were both connected to KING in 2008. Hamilton moved on from KING that year and Hutchison was just removed from the team’s website this week.
Hamilton was also added to USA Swimming’s permanent ban list. His ban officially began last August, though coaches don’t usually appear on the banned list until the period for potential appeals to their bans has passed. He will no longer be eligible for USA Swimming membership for the rest of his life.
As a mom with a swimmer and me as an official, I think USA swimming should be so ashamed. How on this earth was he allowed to coach with his 2003 arrest? So disgusted right now!
He got the charge dismissed, so it likely didn’t show up on his background check.
Remember that because of the plea deal, the victim will not have to testify in court.
That is actually a good thing. Bringing a 13 year old into to court to talk about her sexual abuse is not ideal.
What is six days going to accomplish? That does nothing to deter others, the sentences for these types of things should be extreme and make a point that this is not, and never will be acceptable in our world.
only six days? come on, it should be six years or something, at the least.
Seriously, the news on swim swam right now:
70 % sexual abuse
30 % car crashes or bullets
regarding the sexual abuse… “Where there is smoke, there is fire”. I fear that this is the tip of the iceberg in terms of allegations becoming public. so sad.
Sorry, but it bears re-emphasising:
SIX F****ING DAYS????
SIX. DAYS. WHAT?????
Can’t believe he only got six days. Disgusting
Can we stop touching kids? Jesus.