SAN JOSE — A lawsuit over a former youth hockey coach’s serial sexual abuse of a San Jose Jr. Sharks player has ended in a $4.6 million settlement, reached a few months after the coach was convicted of an array of felonies that will yield a lengthy prison sentence.
Kevin Whitmer, 34, of Denver, pleaded no contest Aug. 26 to a dozen counts of lewd and lascivious acts with a child under the age of 14 and one count of possessing images or videos depicting a minor engaging in sexual acts. He is expected to serve 25 years in prison as part of a plea agreement; his sentencing is tentatively scheduled for February.
On Dec. 2, a Santa Clara County Superior Court judge approved a settlement between the underage plaintiff — identified by this news organization as John Doe because he is a victim of sexual assault — and Sharks Sports & Entertainment LLC and its subsidiary Sharks Ice to resolve litigation filed in March 2024, a few months after Whitmer was arrested and charged.
The lawsuit, filed on Doe’s behalf by the San Jose-based firm Cerri, Boskovich & Allard, alleged that the Sharks organization neglected to enforce USA Hockey rules on chaperones in youth locker rooms and private interactions between adults and minors. That reportedly fueled complaints about Whitmer’s conduct, which included him having unauthorized access to locker room keys and having inappropriate physical contact with other youth players, according to the plaintiff claims.
The abuse of Doe spanned 2021 and 2022 starting when he was 12 years old, and Whitmer was accused of grooming him, highlighted by claims that he would take the player into a locker room at Sharks Ice, tell him to sit on his lap, wrap his hands around his waist, and massage his chest and stomach. That allegedly escalated to Whitmer performing sexual acts on the boy after nearly every lesson, and sending the boy images of his chest and stomach, and photos of him engaged in sex acts.
“We uncovered substantial evidence that rules promulgated by USA Hockey were not followed, specific to having chaperones present in locker rooms, which were identified by USA hockey as areas that were particularly dangerous for minors,” Allard said in an interview. “They advised the Sharks to ensure that these locker room rules were strictly followed, and not only were they not followed, but almost to a person, management did not even know of these rules.”
Whitmer, who was accused of abusing the boy both at the hockey facility and at his temporary home in San Jose, left the organization in May 2023. He was arrested and criminally charged six months later, after the boy reported the sexual assaults to police.
In previous statements, the Sharks organization asserted that it was not aware of the sexual misconduct allegations until after Whitmer had left and returned to Colorado, where he took another youth coaching position. In response to an inquiry about the legal settlement, the organization reinforced that stance.
“Sharks Sports & Entertainment maintains unwavering commitment to workplace safety, organizational integrity, and serving as a responsible community partner,” reads a statement from the group. “Following a thorough investigation where there was no finding of wrongdoing by SSE, this legal matter has been resolved.”
The $4.6 million settlement is composed of $1.8 million in legal fees, and payouts to the victim in the form of a $1.2 million cash payment to a settlement trust established in Doe’s name, as well as $1.5 million in the form of an annuity. The payment structure was designed in part to ensure the bulk of the funds are still available to Doe once he becomes an adult.
Allard said a broader lesson, beyond the youth hockey program, needs to be taken from the outcome of the criminal case against Whitmer as well as the ensuing litigation.
“Youth serving organizations such as the Junior Sharks need to continue with vigilance when it comes to protecting children from predators. There are predators out there, and they will continue to try to get access to children through school and through sport,” Allard said. “And those who supervise and hire these people need to undertake extreme caution and care.”