Former Austin swim coach charged with indecency to a child

Former Austin swim coach Tim O’Brien, 49, is being charged with Indecency with a Child by Contact. 

Austin Police say the victim told them the assault happened over a two year period when she was a teenager. According to an affidavit obtained by Fox7, O’Brien admitted in a phone call with investigators that the young girl started going to his apartment near Bull Creek when she was 16 but he claims that the physical relationship didn't start until she “17 or 18.”

According to the arrest warrant:

• The woman, who is now 26, says she began taking lessons from O'brien in 2006, when she was 13. He would continue to coach her, she said, until she turned 16.
• She told police: beginning when she was 15, the two would sleep naked together in his apartment.
• She also stated when she turned 21, she moved in with O'brien, and they had a relationship for eight-years.
• The Director of Safe Report for U.S.A Swimming, Susan Woesner, told Austin Police the victim contacted her on February 29, 2016 to file a report
• U.S.A. Swimming then launched an investigation

O’Brien told investigators he had been a swim coach since 2003. He began working at Nitro Swimming in Austin in 2007. In October 2015, U.S.A. Swimming named O’Brien “The Developmental Coach of The Year”.

O'brien resigned from Nitro in March 2016 after U.S.A. Swimming issued a lifetime ban against him for dating one of his students.

Fox 7 reached out to Nitro Swimming’s Head Coach and Owner Mike Koleber, who sent the following statement:

“What occurred was / is not indicative of our program. But rather a very bad person who had nothing in his past, no previous history even with our extensive and ongoing background checks, in addition to a host of other protection mechanisms that we have in place.  USA Swimming has the highest protection standards in youth sports, and we take it even further with our own internal policies. We responded swiftly the moment we found out and obviously he was no longer a part of our program. Nitro remains the #1 competitive swim program as well as the best place to come to learn to swim in the state of Texas-- and our hundreds even thousands of families will attest to that. The law will take its course and it should. I applaud the efforts of law enforcement agencies across the country and especially those right here in Austin.”

According to the arrest warrant issued for O'brien, he told an investigator at U,S,A, Swimming that he believed the woman was lashing out at him because of the way the relationship ended.

Neither O’Brien or the victim reside in Texas any longer.

Indecency with a Child by Contact is a 2nd Degree Felony. If convicted, the punishment includes up to a $100,000 and/or two to twenty years in prison.

The warrant issued for O’Brien lists the bond at $25,000. It also forbids contact with the victim, and orders O'brien to stay at least 200 yards away from her.