By Scott Smith
A former swim student of convicted child pornographer Brian Hindson is suing Kokomo Center Schools and six other defendants, claiming proper measures weren’t taken to prevent the former coach’s actions.
A 48-page lawsuit, filed initially in a Hamilton Superior court, claims Kokomo, Westfield-Washington School Corp. and Noblesville School Corp. all failed to adequately protect children.
Hindson, 41, is now serving a 33-year federal prison sentence after a conviction on 16 felony counts of producing, distributing and possessing child pornography.
He admitted to using his position as a club and high school swimming coach to secretly videotape numerous victims — who were between 13 and 17 years old when they were taped — between 1998 and 2007.
The plaintiff in the lawsuit, identified only by her initials and her swimming accomplishments, said she began swimming with Hindson’s Central Indiana Aquatics club in the summer of 1999, just before her senior year of high school.
According to the lawsuit, Hindson began secretly videotaping the plaintiff while she was a teenager, “in the girls’ locker room, coach’s office and bathrooms of the Defendant School Districts.”
At the time the plaintiff alleges Hindson videotaped her, he was a club coach. It was not until several years later — after the plaintiff had gone on to a successful college swimming career — that Hindson became swim coach at Kokomo High School.
In the federal charges filed in 2008 against Hindson, the U.S. Attorney’s office said Hindson taped girls while they attended his swim practices at Westfield High School and Kokomo’s Memorial Gym. Noblesville wasn’t mentioned in those charges.
According to the lawsuit, the school districts named “failed to supervise Mr. Hindson and Central Indiana Aquatics while the U.S. Swimming-chartered organization used their facilities.
“The school districts failed to discover hidden cameras, holes in shower walls, or doors opening from the male coaches’ office into the female locker room ...” and other means by which Hindson was able to tape girls undressing, the suit claims.
In addition to claims Kokomo did nothing about the lack of separation between a coach’s office and the girls locker room at Memorial Gym, the suit also claims that at the time the taping occurred, the school district had no policy establishing what groups would be allowed keys to the buildings, and to locker room areas.
“The reckless indifference for the safety of the young swimmers allowed Mr. Hindson the freedom to operate without the fear of being discovered,” the suit states.
The attorney representing all three school districts, Thomas Wheeler II, Indianapolis, could not be immediately reached for comment Wednesday.
The attorney for the plaintiff, Jonathan Little, Indianapolis, said neither he nor the family of the plaintiff would have any additional comment to the lawsuit.
In addition to Hindson, his CIA swim club and the three school districts, the suit also names U.S. Swimming and Indiana Swimming as defendants.
The complaint seeks unspecified damages.
• Scott Smith is a Kokomo Tribune staff writer. He may be reached at (765) 454-8569 or via e-mail at scott.smith@kokomotribune.com
