Former Goodyear, Arizona Swim Coach Ruled Ineligible by U.S. Center for SafeSport

James Sutherland contributed to this report.

David Laudati, a former swim coach in Arizona, has been ruled ineligible by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, effective September 17, 2024. He was previously temporarily suspended, but that status was updated for “criminal disposition” of the case, though Maricopa County court records show that he pleaded not guilty and the case is still going through pre-trial motions.

The “ineligible” status, without a “permanent” qualifier, means that the window for arbitration is still open. The status is updated after the window for arbitration closes.

Laudati, 41, was arrested by the Connecticut U.S. Marshals Violent Fugitive Task Force and Newington Police Department in July and faces 19 felony charges in Maricopa County, Arizona, authorities reported.

Laudati was charged with 11 counts of voyeurism and eight counts of attempt to commit voyeurism stemming from allegations following a September 2023 investigation by the Buckeye Police Department in Arizona.

The investigation found that Laudati secretly recorded student-athletes in the changeroom.

He was apprehended by the Buckeye Police Department and U.S. Marshals on Monday at his home in Newington, Conn.

Laudati was employed as a swim coach at Millenium High School in Goodyear, Ariz., and the Arizona Dolphins swim team prior to the investigation. He was suspended by the Agua Fria High School District and barred from all school campuses in the district and directed not to have contact with any students once the investigation began.

On Sept. 9, 2023, a parent contacted the Buckeye Police Department informing them that their 14-year-old daughter was changing after swim practice and noticed a cell phone in the restroom at the Center on Main Pool in Verrado, Ariz., shortly after Laudati had finished coaching an Arizona Dolphins practice.

Police said the phone was found recording in a mesh pocket in Laudati’s backpack, which was left on top of a changing table.

The Buckeye Police Special Victims Unit obtained a search warrant for Laudati’s home on Sept. 11 and seized his phone. During forensic testing, detectives were able to locate several photos showing female minors partially undressed or nude in the Center on Main restroom and the Litchfield Park Recreation Center locker room. A total of three victims were identified between 14 and 17 years of age.

On July 16, 2024, Laudati was indicted by the Maricopa County Grand Jury after evidence was presented.

He will be extradited back to Maricopa County to face the charges against him.

Newington police said he was detained on a $500,000 bond and was set to face a judge in New Britain on Tuesday.

Laudati was also previously employed as a swim coach at the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford, Conn., as recently as 2019.

In 2022, he was the Arizona Republic’s High School boys’ swim coach of the year.

On August 5, 2024, Laudati was given a temporary suspension by USA Swimming and listed in the U.S. Center for SafeSport database under allegations of misconduct.