Federal grand jury subpoenas testimony by U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials

A U.S. District Court grand jury has subpoenaed the sworn testimony of three current or former U.S. Olympic and Paralympic officials as part of an ongoing Justice Department criminal investigation into the USOPC and national governing bodies’ handling of sexual abuse cases, according to documents obtained by the Southern California News Group.

A grand jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia has requested the depositions of Eric Marsh, the USOPC director of risk management, Meredith Miller, a USOPC manager of sport performance, and John Ruger, the former USOPC ombudsman, in a 2018 civil suit against the USOPC, USA Taekwondo, the U.S. Center for SafeSport and Olympic gold medalist Steven Lopez and his brother Jean, a longtime national team coach.

The grand jury has also subpoenaed the deposition of Leah Wickes, who assisted attorney Donald Alperstein in investigating alleged SafeSport violations for USA Taekwondo.

The subpoenas issued Friday are the latest step in a wide-ranging Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service criminal investigation into how the USOPC, USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming, and USA Taekwondo have handled sexual abuse cases.

Justice Department and IRS officials are also looking into financial practices of officials at USA Gymnastics, USA Swimming and other national governing bodies, according to nine people familiar with the probe.

A Washington, D.C., based-team of approximately 10 federal investigators and prosecutors have interviewed dozens of individuals, including Olympic and world champion medalists, about the USOPC and at least five national governing bodies as part of a probe into potential money laundering, sex trafficking and child sex labor, according to people familiar with the investigation.

The investigation is being directed by David B. Kent, assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Lauren Britsch, a trial attorney in the child exploitation and obscenity section, and Jane Khodarkovsky, trial attorney in the money laundering and asset recovery section.

The U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of New York is also investigating USA Swimming’s handling of sexual abuse cases and an off-shore insurance company created and owned by the NGB.

Miller declined to comment, referring questions to the USOPC communications department. Marsh did not respond to a request for comment. SCNG was unable to reach Ruger or Wickes.

The USOPC declined comment.

The depositions subpoenaed are related to a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Denver last year that alleges gross negligence and trafficking by the USOPC and USA Taekwondo for failing to protect female taekwondo athletes from sexual abuse by the Lopez brothers.

The lawsuit, filed by four former U.S. national team members, charges that the USOC, and USA Taekwondo, engaged in forced labor, sex trafficking and racketeering under federal RICO statutes by secretly obstructing investigations in allegations of sexual abuse by the Lopez brothers.

Specifically, the lawsuit alleges that investigations into sexual abuse allegations against the Lopez brothers were suspended to allow the brothers to coach and compete in the 2016 Olympic Games and 2017 U.S. Championships.

A federal magistrate recommended in March that the U.S. Center for SafeSport and Jean Lopez be dropped as defendants in the suit but the case should proceed against the USOPC, USA Taekwondo and Steven Lopez.

U.S. national team member Heidi Gilbert alleges in the suit that Jean Lopez drugged, molested and performed oral sex on her while they traveled to a 2003 World Cup event in Germany. Later, Gilbert alleges, Jean Lopez told her he wanted to leave his wife and have “Olympic babies” with her.

Kay Poe, a 2000 Olympian who four years earlier at 14 became the youngest ever member of the U.S. national taekwondo team, alleged Jean Lopez began sexually exploiting her and engaging in sexual intercourse with her in the year leading up to the 2000 Olympics. The suit said Lopez forced Poe into sex at the 1999 World Championships in Alberta. Lopez’s abuse of Poe was known to many in the USOC and USA Taekwondo community, the suit alleges.

Mandy Meloon alleges Jean Lopez molested her while she pretended to sleep on a trip to a 1997 World Cup event in Cairo, Egypt. Meloon was 15 at the time. Meloon began a sexual relationship with Steven Lopez in 2000, according to court documents. She also alleges in the filing that Steven Lopez physically abused her in 2002 and raped her in 2004.

Gabriella Joslin alleges Steven Lopez sexually assaulted her during the 2006 German Open.

An arbitrator in December 2018 overturned Steven Lopez’s lifetime ban by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. The arbitrator ruled that the center had failed to prove by a preponderance of evidence that Lopez sexually assaulted a 14-year-old girl in 2000.

A similar SafeSport ban of Jean Lopez was lifted by an arbitration panel in January 2019.