The juggernaut of swim coach abuse lawsuits against USA Swimming rolls on.  In the latest lawsuit, a swimmer from Silicon Valley has filed a sexual abuse lawsuit against a coach and USA Swimming, alleging that the abuse effectively derailed any potential career she had as a professional swimmer.

Jancy Torres Thompson addressed a press conference announcing her decision to file a lawsuit.  Her story reads like so many that California swim coach abuse lawyers have come across.  The lawsuit alleges that she was abused by former coach Norman Havercroft, and that the abuse occurred at the West Valley Swim Club in Saratoga.  During the press conference, Thompson spoke about the abuse that she claims effectively killed her dreams of becoming an Olympian swimmer, and in fact, destroyed her life.  Before the abuse, Thompson had a promising career and frequently competed in national tournaments.  She even won a swimming scholarship to Arizona State University.  All that potential was destroyed.

This is the latest blow to USA Swimming, which is already caught in the middle of a raging controversy over allegations that officials, at both local and national levels, knew about the abuse of swimmers by some coaches, and failed to do anything about it.  Earlier this year, former coach Andrew King was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molestation of three young girls during the 1980s and the 1990s. 

The organization has come under severe pressure to disclose more details about its knowledge of the abuse.  This year, USA Swimming finally released a list of nearly 4 dozen coaches and some officials who have been banned for life.  Most of these bans involved abuse and misconduct.

Thompson's attorneys allege that USA Swimming was aware that Havercroft had engaged in sexual misconduct back in 2002, but he continued to coach water polo in Southern California as recently as two years ago. 

California sexual abuse attorneys continue to come across cases involving clergy sex abuse, years after the extent of the scandal in the US first came to light.  US authorities began extradition proceedings against former Irish priest, 74-year-old Patrick McCabe, who currently lives in California.  Defense attorneys for McCabe, who faces charges of sex abuse in his native Ireland, are likely to face a legal challenge when they begin to oppose his extradition. 

McCain is mentioned in at least 10 warrants issued in Irish courts, calling for his extradition from California to Ireland.  He has been accused by 10 persons of sexual assault or attempted sexual assault.  Nine of the cases involved indecent assault, while the tenth one involved attempted indecent assault.  The alleged sex abuse took place between 1973 and 1981, when McCabe was a priest in the Dublin archdiocese.

In 1982, McCabe moved to California where he began practicing as a priest.  The allegations of abuse were made against him in 1987, and the following year, he resigned the priesthood.  Authorities were not aware of his whereabouts, and thus no charges were filed at that point in time.  Finally, Interpol was able to locate him in Alameda, California in 2003. 

Irish police interviewed him in 2007, and now formal official proceedings have begun to send this priest back to Ireland to face his former victims.  The victims were between 10 and 14 years of age when the assaults allegedly took place.  The priest has been remanded into custody, and will likely remain there until the extradition proceedings are complete.

The priest's defense attorneys insist that he is not a flight risk.  He has surrendered his passport, and is electronically tagged.  The defense papers insist that McCabe is a frail and weak elderly man, who has no history of criminality, and is in poor health.  That claim is disputed by prosecutors, who say that he is frequently seen walking and cycling, and does yoga a couple times a week.
  

The defense attorneys intend to oppose the extradition request on the basis that offense of indecent assault has no counterpart under California or US laws.  The United States attorney's office, however, disputes that claim.