Safesport centralized disciplinary database

[greybeard58]

U.S. Center for SafeSport reports USA Hockey to Congress for potential interference in investigation: Sources

By Katie Strang
Feb 11, 2022

________________________________________
U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley sent a letter Friday to USA Hockey concerning the national governing body’s “cooperation” and “compliance” with the U.S. Center for SafeSport’s policies and investigations. The U.S. Center for SafeSport investigates claims of sexual misconduct within the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Committee’s purview.

In the letter, addressed to USA Hockey executive director Pat Kelleher and president Mike Trimboli, Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, reminded USA Hockey of their legal obligations under the Empowering Olympic, Paralympic, and Amateur Athletes Act of 2020, which requires national governing bodies to protect athletes from sexual abuse; under the law, NGBs also have the duty to immediately report any “reasonable suspicion” of child abuse to both law enforcement and the Center.
“As the Nassar case exemplifies, inaction may lead to many more victims being harmed, which would be intolerable,” Grassley wrote, referencing the case of Larry Nassar, who sexually abused hundreds of young female gymnasts.
The law referenced by Grassley requires the U.S. Center for SafeSport to report to Congress within 72 hours “any attempt to interfere in or influence the outcome of an investigation” by a national governing body. The U.S. Center for SafeSport reported USA Hockey earlier this week, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic.

It is not immediately clear the nature of the investigation being conducted by the U.S. Center for SafeSport. A spokesperson for the Center declined to comment on the investigation, citing the Center’s policy for ongoing probes. USA Hockey was not immediately available for comment.

Previously, the U.S. Center for Safesport reported to Congress that USA Badminton had potentially run afoul of the law based on allegations that it was discouraging reporting of sexual misconduct, encouraging concealment and destruction evidence on the subject and refusing to cooperate with the Center’s investigation, according to a letter published by Grassley’s office in October 2021.
In that case, Grassley’s office warned USA Badminton officials of its legal obligations and also advised that Grassley had alerted the Federal Bureau of Investigation about the concerns.

USA Hockey has come under scrutiny for how it handled allegations of sexual misconduct. Former USA Hockey president Jim Smith was investigated by the U.S. Center for SafeSport because of allegations he mishandled claims of sexual abuse involving former prominent Chicago-area youth and college hockey coach Thomas “Chico” Adrahtas. The matter was closed by SafeSport, but Smith later announced he would not seek re-election, referencing these allegations and telling members of the need to be “totally united as we move forward.”

USA Hockey is a co-defendant in a May 2021 federal lawsuit brought by victims of Adrahtas. The complaint alleges that Smith and others within USA Hockey and AHAI (Illinois’ amateur hockey state governing body) were told about the coach’s sexual misconduct and did not report the allegations to law enforcement or investigate the matter. USA Hockey filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit in September, asking the court to dismiss the complaint for failure to state a claim.

https://theathletic.com/4182404/2022/02 ... n-sources/

[OldManRiver]

I think the single scariest message anyone related to hockey could get right now would be "Hi, this is Katie Strang, and I'd like to speak with you."

I think she is doing the job she needs to do to help support kids in vulnerable positions, but it would scare the hell out of me if I had that come across my phone.

[greybeard58]

SafeSport Center suspends former interim CEO Regis Becker
Feb 17, 2023

Regis Becker, the former interim CEO of the U.S. Center for SafeSport, has been temporarily suspended by the center he used to run for failure to report a case.

The center posted the suspension earlier this week. It also included a charge of abuse of process. Becker served as a member of the center's board of directors when it opened in 2017, then took over as interim CEO and ran the organization for about six months at the start of 2019.


The center's disciplinary database had "probation" and "education" listed under the "additional details" column regarding Becker's case. It said his case was subject to appeal and not yet final.

Center spokesman Dan Hill said the center would not comment on the case specifically.

"We aim to handle every allegation with the same level of professionalism, objectivity and fairness," Hill said. "Since opening its doors in 2017, the center has demonstrated a track record of holding participants accountable for misconduct, irrespective of their prominence, position or perceived importance to a sport."

Before coming to the center, Becker served as an FBI special agent, then went to Penn State to launch the school's ethics and compliance program in the aftermath of the sex-abuse scandal that led to the imprisonment of longtime assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.

Becker was a longtime weightlifting coach and also served as a member of USA Weightlifting's board of directors. USA Weightlifting is listed as the sport affiliation on Becker's entry in the SafeSport database.

The center's code of conduct includes five subsections about reporting, part of which describes an "obligation (that) includes reporting, on a timely basis, all information of which an Adult Participant becomes aware, including the names of witnesses, third-party reporters, and Claimants."

https://www.espn.com/olympics/story/_/i ... gis-becker

[greybeard58]

Name: John Degelau
City: Duluth
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): US Ski & Snowboard
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 04/12/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/respon ... -database/

[bardown27]

Name: John Degelau
City: Duluth
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): US Ski & Snowboard
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 04/12/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/respon ... -database/

this is a hockey forum

[gitter]

Name: John Degelau
City: Duluth
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): US Ski & Snowboard
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 04/12/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/respon ... -database/

this is a hockey forum

Agree. Post relevant to MN Hockey. If you want to out people in general sports go to Twitter.

[greybeard58]

The names that appear on the database are persons that have been accused or in some cases convicted for offenses against children and young adults. Regardless of what sport is involved, a number of hockey players both boys and girls also participate in other sports such as tennis, track and field, baseball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, skiing and many more activities. Many players also cross train with other coaches in other sports.
The person while being a coach could also be a teacher at your local school, it doesn’t make any difference that they are not hockey coaches but they could have access to children in their classes. There is a Doctor on this Database that was at one time in Fergus Falls nobody reported him and he continued his abuse elsewhere. I don’t believe there is a parent that doesn’t want to know the name of a person who could be involved in child abuse living in their area or involved in any activity that could involve their children regardless. It is important that these offenders names are made public.

[Fightinghawklover]

The names that appear on the database are persons that have been accused or in some cases convicted for offenses against children and young adults. Regardless of what sport is involved, a number of hockey players both boys and girls also participate in other sports such as tennis, track and field, baseball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, skiing and many more activities. Many players also cross train with other coaches in other sports.
The person while being a coach could also be a teacher at your local school, it doesn’t make any difference that they are not hockey coaches but they could have access to children in their classes. There is a Doctor on this Database that was at one time in Fergus Falls nobody reported him and he continued his abuse elsewhere. I don’t believe there is a parent that doesn’t want to know the name of a person who could be involved in child abuse living in their area or involved in any activity that could involve their children regardless. It is important that these offenders names are made public.

Perfectly stated!

[gitter]

The names that appear on the database are persons that have been accused or in some cases convicted for offenses against children and young adults. Regardless of what sport is involved, a number of hockey players both boys and girls also participate in other sports such as tennis, track and field, baseball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, skiing and many more activities. Many players also cross train with other coaches in other sports.
The person while being a coach could also be a teacher at your local school, it doesn’t make any difference that they are not hockey coaches but they could have access to children in their classes. There is a Doctor on this Database that was at one time in Fergus Falls nobody reported him and he continued his abuse elsewhere. I don’t believe there is a parent that doesn’t want to know the name of a person who could be involved in child abuse living in their area or involved in any activity that could involve their children regardless. It is important that these offenders names are made public.

Perfectly stated!

I don't disagree these are disgusting people. But this is a MN hockey forum, not a teacher or tennis forum.

[greybeard58]

Name: Karl Cornish
City: Rochester
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): U.S. Soccer
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 04/17/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[hawkhockey]

The names that appear on the database are persons that have been accused or in some cases convicted for offenses against children and young adults. Regardless of what sport is involved, a number of hockey players both boys and girls also participate in other sports such as tennis, track and field, baseball, volleyball, basketball, wrestling, softball, skiing and many more activities. Many players also cross train with other coaches in other sports.
The person while being a coach could also be a teacher at your local school, it doesn’t make any difference that they are not hockey coaches but they could have access to children in their classes. There is a Doctor on this Database that was at one time in Fergus Falls nobody reported him and he continued his abuse elsewhere. I don’t believe there is a parent that doesn’t want to know the name of a person who could be involved in child abuse living in their area or involved in any activity that could involve their children regardless. It is important that these offenders names are made public.

Perfectly stated!

I don't disagree these are disgusting people. But this is a MN hockey forum, not a teacher or tennis forum.

And the offenders' names are already public from the place he's copy and pasting from. What value is being added by posting here? Any user of this forum that is concerned about people like this would very likely already know about the Safesport database.

[OldManRiver]

To everyone complaining about this - I have a solution. Don't read the thread. You know what is being posted, so if you don't want to see it, don't read it. Problem solved.

[Slap Shot]

I don't think they don't want to read it, I think they'd simply prefer updates be related to the sport of hockey.

[greybeard58]

Spencer reverses course, resigns from school board

On Monday, April 24, Chisago Lakes School Board member Cory Spencer submitted his resignation to the board.

Superintendent Dean Jennissen provided a statement after the resignation, saying, “In March, the District received a complaint about Cory Spencer. This is a personnel matter, and consistent with the District’s data privacy obligations under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act, the District may not disclose private personnel data. The District, however, can confirm that it fully investigated the complaint, and the complaint is now closed. Mr. Spencer is not currently serving as a substitute teacher or volunteer coach in the District.”

The move was an about-face for Spencer after he addressed the allegations during the open forum portion of the regular Chisago Lakes School Board meeting on Thursday, April 20.

Spencer elected to reveal the results of the school district’s completed investigation into allegations made against him.

He said he fully cooperated with the investigation and that he wanted to show transparency regarding the incident in an effort to maintain the public’s trust in the school district and in him as a board member.

He admitted that the district’s investigation determined that he had violated policies regarding excessive social contact between staff and students and transporting students in a non-authorized personal vehicle. Spencer also confirmed that the district has excused him from any substitute teaching and all other paid or volunteer services to the school district.

Despite the district’s determinations, Spencer emphasized that the allegations were not criminal in nature and at the time, remained steadfast that he is still an active board member and “that remains unchanged until such action by the board as a whole is made,” he said.

Spencer closed his statement by saying, “Actions on my part have only ever been intended to help and support kids. I would never do anything to compromise that.”

When the district first announced that Spencer was under investigation in March, he had voluntarily stepped away from board activities at that time. He resumed his board activities, however, during a midday April 13 special board meeting to vote to approve new superintendent Brian Dietz’ contract.

After Spencer’s remarks, two other speakers addressed the board in regards to the matter. “Before you tune me out thinking I'm only here to cause problems, please know that I am not. I am here to talk about problems for others tonight,” former student Taryn Lappe said as the first speaker after Spencer. “I was always taught that if an adult makes you uncomfortable with their words or actions, that you should say something. If an adult, regardless of their title, ever asked me to take pictures or ask if males are around me, I would bring it to someone's attention.”

Ashley Newman then addressed the board and revealed that she had made the formal allegations against Spencer on behalf of her daughter, a student at the Chisago Lakes Middle School.

“My daughter was subject to inappropriate contact by a substitute teacher, school board member and local police officer,” she said. “Over the course of several months, this person was having conversations with my daughter on the social media app Snapchat. In those conversations, the board member calls her pretty, invites her to his home, requests pictures of her and inquires about her whereabouts and who she's with and what she's doing. In addition to the contact, the person also took my daughter, without my permission, in his vehicle, to Starbucks. When she was working at the hockey arena, he would give her free food, hug her, and rub her back and shoulders, which made her uncomfortable.

“With all this said, I request the board reconsider the position of Cory Spencer,” she concluded.

Chief Deputy Justin Wood from the Chisago County Sheriff’s Office confirmed they had investigated the matter but it was now closed, and they found nothing to support criminal charges.

Newman did state that her now 14-year old daughter had gotten a harassment restraining order against Spencer from the district court on Tuesday, April 18. In it, county judicial referee Nicole Kralik ruled that Spencer, the respondent, “used social media to harass petitioner with repeated unwanted and inappropriate communications via Snapchat; messaging the minor child about her looks, her friendships with boys, and asking her to come over to the [Spencer’s] house. Respondent exploited a position of authority to continue the harassment.”

Kralik’s ruling also included that “the harassment has or is intended to have a substantial adverse effect on the petitioner's safety, security or privacy.

Spencer is to have no direct or indirect contact with Newman’s daughter and is barred from being within two blocks of her home or the Chisago Lakes Middle School. The order is for two years, but Newman said she would have it updated in the fall to reflect her daughter advancing to the Chisago Lakes High School.

Spencer did have support at the open forum of the board meeting, with district resident and parent Amanda Bushweiler saying, “I can understand how it looks from an outside perspective. If I didn’t know Cory as well as I do, I would certainly have questions. But I do know Cory. I know the way he relates to these kids and how many of these kids consider him more of a friend than a coach, teacher or officer,” she said. “Cory is not only the most servant-hearted person I know, he is the most caring and considerate person to a fault. There are numerous kids Cory has brought to Starbucks or candy stores or to any event that they want to go to because that is who he is and what he does. I urge you all to not jump to conclusions. I urge you to take a moment to see he’s just a man with a giant heart — a heart of a kid — who maybe didn’t consider how reaching out on Snapchat didn’t exactly translate right. Please don’t ruin my friend’s life over this misunderstanding.”

Spencer went on to participate in the rest of the meeting, but early this week, he had submitted his written resignation. He did not respond to a request for comment.

With almost a full four year term left in the position that just started in January of this year, the school board will now have to decide if they want to have a special election to fill the seat, or appoint someone.

Sarah Aadland, who was appointed to replace Melissa Donovan when she resigned from the board in the summer of 2021, was the next highest vote getter in last November’s election, with 3,722 votes, just 155 votes shy of being elected herself.

Spencer reverses course, resigns from school board
Read more: https://chisagocountypress.com/main.asp ... leID=31220


School Board member misses supt. hire vote, CL District looking into 'allegations'
by JEFF NORTON

After being a part of nearly 10 hours of superintendent semifinalist interviews, recently elected Chisago Lakes School Board member Cory Spencer was absent from the finalist interviews and missed the vote to hire new superintendent Brian Dietz on Tuesday, March 28.

The day after the meeting, the school district sent out an e-mail to parents that was signed by board chair Lori Berg and current superintendent Dean Jennissen, stating, “We were made aware of allegations regarding Cory Spencer late last week. Mr. Spencer has served as a District employee, volunteer, and Board member. Since the District learned of these allegations, Mr. Spencer has not been performing duties for the District. We immediately commenced an investigation, which remains ongoing.”

The district's e-mailed statement continued, "These types of investigations take time and we ask for the community’s patience as we do our due diligence in following up on these allegations and completing this investigation process. We recognize our public desires for more information regarding the allegations and the District’s investigation process. The District, however, is not allowed to share further information at this time due to the District’s data privacy obligations under the Minnesota Government Data Practices Act.

“Please know that the District takes all allegations seriously and is committed to providing a safe environment for all,” the e-mail concluded.

Jennissen said in a follow up that Spencer, who also is a Sergeant with the Lakes Area Police and is the President of the Chisago Lakes Hockey Association, has not been removed or censured by the board, but that he voluntarily removed himself from school board activity during the investigation.

Lakes Area Police Chief Bill Schlumbohm confirmed there is an active complaint against Officer Spencer that was filed on March 21, adding that Spencer has been on leave for “several weeks.” Schlumbohm indicated the leave started before the complaint was received and the two have nothing to do with each other.

Chisago Lakes Hockey Association vice president Neil Carlson stated that Spencer is currently on a leave of absence from their organization.

Spencer did not respond to a request for a statement.

https://chisagocountypress.com/main.asp ... M=49407.86

[greybeard58]

Name: Tyler Ferrell
City: Forest Lake
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s):USA Hockey
Misconduct:(Subject to appeal / not yet final); Criminal Disposition - Sexual Misconduct
Action Taken: Ineligible
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 05/15/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Derek Lilleberg
City: Sartell
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 05/18/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Tyler Ferrell
City: Forest Lake
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 05/31/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/respon ... -database/

[greybeard58]

Name: Cory Spencer
City: Chisago City
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey, USA Softball
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Restriction(s)
Additional Detail: Coaching / Training Restriction(s), Contact / Communication Limitation(s), No Contact Directive(s), Travel / Lodging Restriction(s)
Date of Issuance: 06/12/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Derek Lilleberg
City: Sartell
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: (Subject to appeal / not yet final); Criminal Disposition - involving a minor; Criminal Disposition - Sexual Misconduct
Action Taken: Ineligible
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 06/16/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Jason Schoenack
City: Moorhead
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Fencing
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Restriction(s)

Additional Detail: No Unsupervised Coaching / Training, No Contact Directive(s), Contact / Communication Limitation(s), Travel / Lodging Restriction(s)

Date of Issuance: 07/05/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Dominick Jackson
City: River Falls
State: WI
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 07/24/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Ramie Ryan
City: Rosemount
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct
Action Taken: Temporary Suspension
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 08/04/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Dominick Jackson
City: River Falls
State: WI
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: (Subject to appeal / not yet final); Criminal Disposition - Sexual Misconduct
Action Taken: Ineligible
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 08/15/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

[greybeard58]

Name: Jeffrey Hanson

City: Sartell

State: MN

Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey

Misconduct: Allegations of Misconduct

Action Taken: Temporary Restriction(s)Additional Detail: Coaching / Training Restriction(s), Contact / Communication Limitation(s), Travel / Lodging Restriction(s)

Date of Issuance: 09/14/2023

Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport

https://uscenterforsafesport.org/respon ... -database/

[greybeard58]

Name: Jeffrey Hanson
City: Sartell
State: MN
Sport Affiliation(s): USA Hockey
Misconduct: (Subject to appeal / not yet final); Criminal Disposition - Sexual Misconduct
Action Taken: Ineligible
Additional Detail
Date of Issuance: 10/02/2023
Adjudicating Body: U.S. Center for SafeSport