Editor’s note: Today, James Hahn has been added to the USA Swimming permanently ineligible list, on the basis of the following rule’s violations. The official ban date is September 11th, plus the 30 day appeal period:
304.3.6 Conviction of, imposition of a deferred sentence for, or any plea of guilty or no contest at any time, past or present, or the existence of any pending charges, for (i) any felony, (ii) any offense involving use, possession, distribution or intent to distribute illegal drugs or substances, (iii) any crime involving sexual misconduct, or (iv) any criminal offense against a minor.
304.3.17 Any other material and intentional act, conduct or omission not provided for above, which is detrimental to the image or reputation of USA Swimming, a LSC or the sport of swimming.
305.1 Inappropriate touching between an athlete and an adult non-athlete member or Participating Non-Member (as defined in 401.1) is prohibited, including, but not limited to, excessive touching, hugging, kissing, sexually oriented behavior, sexually stimulating or otherwise inappropriate games, and having an athlete sit on a non-family member adult’s lap.
At some point in our lives we have all heard the saying, “You can run, but you cannot hide.” The following case proves these simple words.
Twenty-eight year old Jamie Patrick Hahn of Bainbridge, Georgia allegedly committed an act of child molestation in late 2011 according to the Barren County Commonwealth of Kentucky District Attorney’s office. With these allegations reported, the Decatur County, Georgia Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for Hahn. On January 3, 2012, Hahn “disappeared” from a Bainbridge friend’s house resulting in an area wide search for Hahn, including local major network broadcasts appealing to the community for help in finding Hahn. As it turns out, Hahn had voluntarily fled the area and relocated in Glasgow, Kentucky.
While residing in Glasgow, the Barren County Sheriff’s Office arrested Hahn for Possession of Matter Portraying a Minor in a Sexual Performance on April 7, 2012. In layman’s terms, he was arrested for having child pornography on his personal computer. The Barren County Commonwealth DA’s Office reports that Hahn voluntarily allowed the police to look at his computer and admitted he had downloaded the child pornography. This case remains open and Hahn has not been indicted for these alleged offenses.
Whenever anyone is arrested, standard procedure requires the arresting police to run a background search of the accused. Hahn’s search revealed that he had an outstanding arrest warrant for child molestation in Bainbridge, Georgia. With his capture, the Decatur County Sherrif’s Office in Georgia extradited Hahn to Bainbridge where he remains incarcerated pending the outcome of the molestation charges against him. The Barren County DA’s office told us that Hahn confessed to the molestation charges while in their custody, but we were not able to confirm that with the Decatur County DA’s office. Given the nature of Hahn’s crime and its current pending disposition, we are unable to obtain details about his alleged criminal actions. The District Attorney’s Office could confirm only that Hahn will remain incarcerated pending the outcome of his case.
Hahn’s case is of interest to us because Hahn is a swimmer. According to psych sheets posted online, Hahn was a member of the Eufaula Wave Runners swim team located in Eufaula, Alabama and competed for this team as late as July 2010. He was also formerly a coach of the Bainbridge Extreme Swim Team at the Bainbridge YMCA. Having learned of his arrest, USA Swimming placed Hahn on the banned for life list for violation of Sections 304.3.6 and 304.3.17 of the Code of Conduct and Section 305.1 of the Athlete Protection Policies. With this action, Hahn can neither hide nor swim for the remainder of his life.