A Boulder County jury has returned an all guilty verdict for a former Boulder swim coach accused of sexually assaulting multiple underage swimmers.
Jon Beber, 54, was found guilty this Monday of three counts of sex assault of a child by a person in a position of trust. In two class 3 felony charges, the victims were younger than 15 years old and there was a pattern of assault. In the third charge, a class 4 felony, the victim was between 15 and 18 years old.
Beber is set to next appear in court for sentencing on July 19. He will remain in custody without bond.
Beber worked as a swim coach for the club team Boulder Swimming from 1997 through 2002.
“This defendant sexually abused swimmers whom he coached,” District Attorney Michael Dougherty said in a press release. “Despite the passage of time, and because of the courage and strength of the victims, the defendant is being held responsible for the abuse and trauma he inflicted upon them. Our office was honored to fight for justice for these victims. We appreciate the service and hard work of the jurors.”
According to an arrest affidavit, one of the named victims told police Beber would give her massages and that during some of those sessions Beber would touch her in inappropriate places.
She also said that during a trip, Beber made her come to his hotel room and tried to teach her to masturbate and watched from another room while she did.
A second named victim told police that Beber one day pulled her out of practice and into a private area and told her he wanted to have sex with her. Later that day, the woman said, Beber raped her in the locker room.
According to an affidavit, those two swimmers eventually found out they had been through similar experiences and told their parents.
But according to a witness who was with Colorado Swimming at the time, Colorado Swimming received only “rumor and speculation” and that no formal complaints were filed. The witness said parents decided not to take further action after Beber resigned from the team in 2002 when confronted with the allegations.
The witness said the information was passed on to USA Swimming in case Beber tried to coach again. An official with USA Swimming confirmed Colorado Swimming passed on the allegations, but again no formal complaint was ever filed.
USA Swimming was the subject of lawsuits in 2020 out of California that alleged the organization failed to protect swimmers from abusive coaches.
A third named victim later told police that she would regularly go to Beber’s apartment while she was 16 and 17 to have sex with Beber, and other witnesses on the team told police the two confirmed at the time they were in a “relationship.”
The woman told police that at the time she thought she and Beber were going to get married but that looking back, she realized the situation was “messed up.”
The three named victims said Beber preyed on their insecurities and problems at home to try to isolate them.
Police interviewed other female swimmers on the team who said they were not sexually abused but did recall instances in which they suspected something was going on between Beber and the three named victims.
Those swimmers also agreed Beber was verbally abusive, would make comments about the girls’ appearances and did not allow parents to watch practices. According a press release by the DA’s Office, Beber also coached swim teams in New York, Florida and Georgia throughout his career.
The DA’s Office asked that individuals who have been a victim of sexual abuse report to local law enforcement or reach out to a local victim advocacy organization for help (for Boulder County Residents, call MESA at 303-443-7300). Victims of abuse in the sport setting, are encouraged by the DA’s Office to make a report to SafeSport at https://uscenterforsafesport.org/report-a-concern/.
