Coach sentenced to decades in prison for sexually abusing teenagers

Jon Beber (Boulder County Sheriff’s Office)

Authorities in Colorado are praising the courage of a former top swimmer who came forward 20 years after being sexually abused by her teenage coach.

A judge sentenced Jon Beber, 54, to 42 years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of sexually abusing three teenagers on his swim team, according to Boulder District Attorney Michael Dougherty. The jury found him guilty in April of three counts of sexual abuse of a child.

Beber was a coach for Boulder Swimming from 1997 to 2002. He left the team after allegations of inappropriate behavior toward underage girls arose and was confronted by parents. But no one alerted police. Dougherty said the investigation began nearly 20 years later, when one of the victims came forward and wanted to know if the statute of limitations had expired. Authorities began investigating and identified three victims. Prosecutors filed charges against Beber in 2022, and police arrested him in Georgia, where he lived.

According to prosecutors, Beber coached teams in Albany, New York, Florida and Atlanta.

“This lengthy prison sentence is the right outcome. As the judge noted, cases like this are every parent’s worst nightmare,” Dougherty said in a statement. “Parents drop their children off at practice or school and hope that the adults in charge will not abuse their position of trust. This defendant did just that for years. It is only thanks to the courage and persistence of the victims that we have been able to bring charges all these years later and get justice for them and their families.”

Beber is also accused of inappropriate behavior toward girls he coached at the Atlanta-area Dynamo Swim Club from 2008 to 2010, though no other charges have been filed against him. CBS affiliate Atlanta spoke with a swimmer who described his alleged behavior.

“When we gathered to do the sets, sometimes he would come a little closer and it would feel physically uncomfortable wearing a bathing suit and everything,” said the unidentified woman, who is now in her 30s. “He would pat me on the shoulder for no reason and stroke my shoulders, and he did that to a lot of other swimmers.”

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