D.A.: Bayard Rustin part-time employee violated trust, broke law with Kennett tryst
Kenneth W. Fuller
- A Chester County high-school swim coach pretended to be the father of one of his students in a ruse to lure her to a Kennett Square hotel, authorities said yesterday.
Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrest of Kenneth W. Fuller, 47, of West Goshen Township, the head boys’ and girls’ swimming coach at Bayard Rustin High School for the past three years, who faces charges that include institutional sexual assault, corruption of a minor, and related offenses.
Hogan said Fuller, who has been removed from his part-time coaching position by school administrators, is accused of having sex with a student-athlete on three occasions between April 27 and May 2. The girl is not being identified, Hogan said. Fuller, who owns an area water-treatment equipment company, is also a member of the West Goshen Township Sewer Authority.
“This was a despicable violation of trust,” said Hogan. “Rule No. 1 for every high school teacher and coach is: Do not have sex with a student. Anybody who breaks this rule will be arrested, fired, lose any professional license, and eventually go to jail.”
According to the criminal complaint, in one instance, the defendant called the school pretending to be the victim’s father and had the victim excused from school for a doctor’s appointment so he could meet her at a Kennett hotel on East Baltimore Pike. Before leaving the hotel, Fuller gave the girl a document that stated that she had been treated May 2 at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the complaint said, adding that the girl turned in the medical excuse at school the following day.
“This defendant also coached other teams,” Hogan said. “If there are any other victims, the parents should report the issue to the Chester County Detectives immediately” at 610-344-6866.
According to his online Rustin biography, Fuller was a two-time swimming High School All-American, Collegiate All-Southeast Conference and three-time East Coast Conference Champion, becoming an Olympic trials qualifier. He swam at West Chester Henderson and Marple Newtown before moving on to Auburn University. He finished college with a degree in mechanical engineering from Drexel University, where he was swim team captain and recognized as Drexel’s Outstanding Student Athlete. He is president of a West Chester company that deals with engineered water treatment equipment.
Online records indicate that Fuller has been affiliated with the Malvern Swimming Association, Pennypacker Country Club Swim Team, and the Wedgewood Swim Club.
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