A second sexual abuse lawsuit has been filed in Alameda County Superior Court against the United States Tennis Association and USTA NorCal, alleging that the organizations failed to notify parents and players that former tennis coach Normandie Burgos posed a danger, resulting in the sexual abuse of a male teenager known as “S.G.”
Burgos was sentenced to 255 years in prison in August 2019 after being found guilty of 60 counts of molesting S.G. and another young male teenager.
S.G. testified at Burgos’ criminal trial and says the coach repeatedly molested him for well over a year, starting in 2015 when he was just 14 years old.
Burgos became S.G.’s tennis coach in May of 2012 when he was 11-years-old and immediately began “grooming” him for the purpose of sexually abusing him. Burgos gave S.G. free private tennis lessons, bought him tennis equipment, and gave him special attention and affection. The grooming behavior escalated over time, according to the lawsuit, brought by the law firm of Corsiglia, McMahon & Allard
In mid-2014, the mother of another minor tennis player notified USTA NorCal Junior Team Specialist Darren Wenger that Burgos had sexually assaulted her son, the plaintiffs claimed.
Sometime after that, the mother also allegedly told USTA NorCal executive director Steve Leube that Burgos’ sexual assault of her son made him unfit to be a coach. She also told Leube that the Richmond, California police department was investigating Burgos for sexual assault. Even though USTA and USTA NorCal found the allegations credible and revoked Burgos’ membership, the two organizations took no action to notify athletes or their parents that Burgos posed a danger to children, according to the lawsuit.
Instead, the lawsuit claims that for the next two years, Burgos was allowed to attend, participate, or coach in more than 30 USTA or USTA NorCal events. “Our client would not have been sexually abused in 2015 if USTA and USTA NorCal acted responsibly,” attorney Robert Allard said.
Burgos’ private tennis clinic, the Burgos Tennis Foundation, became a USTA and USTA NorCal member around 2012.
“If either organization had investigated Burgos before approving his membership, they would have uncovered the fact that he had a prior history of sexual misconduct with children,” the law firm charged.
“For example, Burgos was fired from his job as a tennis coach and physical education teacher at Tamalpais High School in Marin County, California in 2008. The Tamalpais Union High School District cited inappropriate touching of several students between 2001 and 2004 as the primary reason for his dismissal and revocation of his California Teaching Credential in 2011.”
Allard added that “this is clearly a case of negligence. The Safe Play rules that USTA and USTA NorCal voluntarily adopted require coaches to undergo background checks. Either they didn’t bother checking him out or they just ignored Burgos’ well-documented sexual misconduct.”
“USTA and USTA NorCal were reckless when they disregarded Burgos’ prior sexual misconduct,” he continued. “We’re bringing this lawsuit to hold their feet to the fire, to make sure other young tennis players don’t suffer as S.G. is suffering.”
Corsiglia McMahon & Allard filed another civil suit (Case No. RG19048474) against Burgos, USTA and USTA NorCal on behalf of a teenage victim, “W.S.,” on December 27, 2019, which also alleges negligence.
