UMD Says It Reported Swim Coach Accusations
ROCKVILLE, Md. (AP) -- The University of Maryland says it alerted the state attorney general's office in the late 1980s that its then-swimming and diving coach had admitted to having sex with an underage girl.
A university spokesman tells The Washington Post that the school demanded the resignation of Richard J. Curl after learning he had sexually abused one of the girls at his local swim club.
Spokesman Brian Ullmann says the university demanded his resignation, which came in August 1988, and reached out to the state attorney general's office. But an assistant attorney general who the university says it contacted says he has no recollection of having been alerted to the allegations.
"I have absolutely no recollection of this coach or any consultation about him," Jim Mingle, who was then an assistant attorney general for the state, told the Post in an email. "I am confident I would remember such an issue regarding a coach's sexual abuse."
Curl, who was once one of the nation's most prominent swimming coaches, had admitted sexually abusing the girl in a letter to her parents. He reached a financial settlement with the family that kept the allegations quiet. She is the only known victim.
Curl was charged in Montgomery County last year and was sentenced on Thursday to seven years in prison. One of his lawyers mentioned in court that the university was made aware of the letter.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
