Former West Valley swim coach arrested for voyeurism

PHOENIX — A former West Valley swim coach wanted on voyeurism charges was arrested Monday in Connecticut, authorities said.

According to Buckeye police, 41-year-old David Laudati secretly took photographs of three naked or partially naked teenagers.

The crimes are said to have taken place last year when Laudati was coaching the Arizona Dolphins at the Buckeye and Litchfield Park recreation centers.

How police learned of former West Valley swim coach’s alleged crimes

The investigation began after the parents of the 14-year-old girl contacted police on September 9, 2023.

The teenager said he saw a cellphone with a recording camera in a mesh pocket on Laudati’s backpack, which was on a changing table at The Center on Main recreation facility in the Verrado community of Buckeye, police said.

Investigators from the Buckeye Police Special Victims Unit searched Laudati’s Goodyear residence on September 11, 2023.

A forensic analysis of the suspect’s electronic devices revealed several photographs of the victims in various stages of undress at the Buckeye facility and in the Litchfield Park Recreation Center locker room.

Investigators identified three victims between the ages of 14 and 17. They also learned that Laudati had been a swim coach at Millennium High School in Goodyear.

A Maricopa County grand jury indicted Laudati in July 2024 on 11 counts of voyeurism and eight counts of attempted voyeurism, police said.

Buckeye police coordinated with the U.S. Marshals Service to arrest Lauda. Federal authorities found him at a home in Newington, Connecticut, on Monday and arrested him. Lauda will be extradited to Maricopa County for prosecution.

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