Sex Abuse Scandal Rocks USA Swimming

Jancy Thompson is suing the governing body of U.S. competitive swimming and the California swim coach she says sexually abused, humiliated and harassed her when she was a teenager under his supervision.

In the lawsuit announced Wednesday it states that swimming coach Norman Havercroft sexually abused the now 28-year-old Thompson over a five-year period in the 1990s. The alleged abuse started when Thompson was about 15 years old.

The lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Sane Jose, Calif. also lists the West Valley Swim Club and Pacific Swimming, the West Coast branch of USA Swimming, for allegedly covering up wrongdoing and allowing a culture of abuse to live in coaching ranks.

Thompson says she came forward to help affect change.

"I was robbed of my childhood and never performed to my full capabilities," she told the Associated Press. "I want to ensure that no one has to endure what I went through and carry such a burden the rest of their lives."