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SPRINGVILLE — A former water polo coach in Utah County has been charged with inappropriately touching a player and a coach.
Jordan Shea Fassett Meyer, 41, of Spanish Fork, was charged in two separate cases on Friday in 4th District Court. She is charged in one case with object rape, a first-degree felony; and sexual battery, a class A misdemeanor, in the other.
In January, Springville police began investigating allegations that Meyer sexually assaulted four people during her time as a water polo coach at the Clyde Recreation Center.
Meyer was hired in February 2022. About three weeks after being hired, Meyer went up to another coach and told her that she had not been "initiated" yet, according to charging documents.
"(Meyer) instructed the victim to get in the pool and play defense against her even though the victim had been hired as a goalie coach," the charges state, adding that while in the pool, Meyer swam up to the coach and inappropriately grabbed her and held on for several seconds while "continuing to swing the victim around."
"The victim said (Meyer) was very intent on establishing the hierarchy of coaches and she said (Meyer) did it to establish her dominance over the victim," according to the charges.
In a separate incident, a player in April 2022 asked Meyer for advice on what to do if an opponent grabs the back of her swimsuit while in the pool.
"(Meyer) showed the victim some maneuvers to get out of the hold the victim had a question about, but then grabbed the victim by the front of her suit," the charging documents allege. "The victim told (Meyer) that wasn't OK, that she had never been grabbed there before in a game and just wanted to know how to maneuver out of a hold on the back of her suit."
When questioned by police, "Meyer denied ever having inappropriate physical contact with any of her players, and denied any hazing or 'christening' incidents initially. She initially denied ever using the term 'christening,' however, recanted that later, stating she may have used it a few times. Meyer claimed she always only grabbed her players on their shoulders, arms, or back. However, (she) later stated she might have grabbed them at their hip," a police booking affidavit states.
Police said Meyer was later fired from her coaching job. Meyer was also a swim coach at Springville High and later at Maple Mountain High, but the Nebo School District fired her after her arrest in February.
