Judge: Sex abuse lawsuit against UK, former swim coach can proceed, but with fewer claims
A federal judge on Tuesday narrowed the claims that will go forward in a sexual abuse lawsuit against former University of Kentucky head swim coach Lars Jorgensen.
Two people, Briggs Alexander and “Jane Doe,” accuse Jorgensen of sexual harassment and assault. They are former UK swimmers who later worked as assistant swim coaches under Jorgensen.
They’re also suing UK and athletics director Mitch Barnhart, who was Jorgensen’s supervisor until the swim coach resigned in 2023. They argue that UK for years turned a blind eye to warnings about Jorgensen’s predatory behavior toward women, even as they and a third UK swimmer were abused by the swim coach.
Jorgensen and UK have denied wrongdoing and filed motions to have the lawsuit dismissed.
U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell in Lexington ruled Tuesday that the April 12, 2024, suit may proceed, although she dismissed some of the individual counts that Jorgensen faces.
Specifically, Caldwell dismissed the federal claims of violation of bodily integrity and sex discrimination by a governmental official.
Caldwell found that most of the alleged bad acts occurred outside of the one-year statute of limitations imposed on this area of federal law. In the one alleged assault that happened more recently, involving Alexander, Jorgensen no longer was Alexander’s coach and therefore could not be considered a governmental official, Caldwell wrote.
However, the longer five-year statute of limitations on Kentucky sexual offense claims “comfortably” covers the events alleged by the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, she ruled. Caldwell let stand counts of negligence, battery and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The judge also agreed to let plaintiff Doe proceed under a pseudonym to protect her privacy in public court filings, despite Jorgensen’s protests. Jorgensen and his attorneys will be aware of Doe’s real identity and can prepare their defense accordingly, Caldwell wrote.
Last November, the plaintiffs agreed to drop four of the six claims they initially made against UK in their suit. UK remains a defendant for one count of sex harassment in violation of Title IX, a federal civil rights law, and one count of sex discrimination in violation of the Kentucky Civil Rights Act.
Barnhart also remains a defendant on several counts.
The plaintiffs dropped a defendant from the suit last October: the previous head swim coach at UK, Gary Conelly, who hired Jorgensen in 2012 as his assistant coach but retired the next year and moved to Florida. Conelly asked to be dismissed from the suit, arguing that he was not at UK during the alleged abuse.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
