Teacher, former All-Met Soccer Coach of the Year arrested in Virginia

By Chris Hummer

The youth soccer community in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region has been shaken by the news that one of the area's best-known youth coaches has been arrested. Forty-three year old Sean Lanigan allegedly sexually assaulted a 12-year old student at Center Ridge Elementary School, in Fairfax, VA, where he is a physical education teacher.

The Virginia Youth Soccer Association and youth clubs where Lanigan coached soccer responded swiftly by suspending the decorated coach. He has also been suspended without pay from his job as a teacher and head coach of the boys varsity team at Herndon High School.

According to Fairfax County Police reports, the victim, a 12-year-old girl, was with a small group of students helping the 43-year-old teacher clean up the gym in the afternoon on Tuesday, January 12. He reportedly picked up the victim, touching her inappropriately, and carried her into a nearby room. When the victim attempted to leave, the suspect pushed her down and lay on top of her; the victim told him she had to leave and the suspect let her go.

When the victim’s parents were made aware of the incident three days later, they reported it to school administrators and police. Lanigan turned himself into the police on Friday, January 29. He has been charged with abduction and aggravated sexual battery of a juvenile under 13 years old. The victim did not require medical attention.

Lanigan has been coaching soccer for over 2 decades, most recently holding the head coaching positions for Herndon High School, McLean Youth Soccer, and Herndon Youth Soccer. A Herndon High School graduate himself, Lanigan won the Washington Post All-Met Coach of the Year award in 1996, after taking his alma mater to the Virginia AAA Northern Region final in his first year at the helm, despite the team winning only three games the prior season.

Lanigan’s coaching credentials and accolades don’t end there. He holds both USSF and UEFA “A” licenses, as well as NSCAA Advanced National diploma, and the U.S. Youth Soccer Association’s National Youth license. He has won eight state titles, three regional crowns, and appeared in both a national final and national semifinal. He coached Herndon High School boys from 1996 to 2002, and recently returned to the program. He also spent time in the D.C. United and Kansas City Wizards youth systems, both Major League Soccer clubs, the highest level of professional soccer in the United States.

His future as a coach however, is certainly in question, unless cleared of all charges, as he has already been suspended by the school district and youth soccer organizations within which he worked.

According to Fairfax County Schools spokesperson Paul Regnier, Lanigan is “on unpaid administrative leave,” which Regnier confirmed encompasses both his position as a teacher and soccer coach. Regnier also told Potomac Soccer Wire the school district is also conducting their own investigation, in cooperation with Fairfax County Police, and as with any employee, reserves the right to take action independent of the outcome of the findings of the police.

McLean Youth Soccer, where Lanigan was the head coach of the NCSL Division 1 boys under-16 team Celtic White, has already publicly acted by announcing his suspension on their website, and removing him from all listings or affiliation with teams on their website.

The Washington Area Girls Soccer league has also removed Lanigan from their web site, where he had been listed as the head coach of the Herndon Strikers, an under-13 girls team.

Herndon Youth Soccer removed Lanigan from their web site as well, and issued this statement to Potomac Soccer Wire: “Herndon Youth Soccer is aware of and monitoring the situation with Mr. Lanigan. We are taking the allegations very seriously and will continue to cooperate completely with VYSA, the USSF, and the proper authorities. Herndon Youth Soccer has no history of any complaints regarding Mr. Lanigan and we feel for all parties involved.”

Both the McLean and Herndon clubs fall under the jurisdiction of the Virginia Youth Soccer Association, or VYSA. The VYSA board of directors moved with lightning speed to act the moment they were made aware of Lanigan’s arrest, thanks to a bylaw in the rules of regulations of the US Youth Soccer Association, the national governing body for youth soccer under which VYSA, and 54 other state associations operate in the United States.

VYSA President Denise Edwards explained, “U.S. Youth bylaw 252 allows us to suspend, with a board vote, anyone in pending litigation. Those are the grounds under which Sean Lanigan was suspended. We were notified yesterday, the board took a vote last night, and he’s been notified by letter [that] he’s on suspension. He’ll be removed from his teams pending the outcome of litigation.”

If Lanigan is eventually cleared of the charges, or convicted of something less than a felony, it is possible for him to be reinstated.

“At that time – when litigation is completed – and any sentence, or no sentence, whatever the disposition is – the suspended individual can apply to VYSA to be reinstated. And then the board will take appropriate action at that time,” Edwards explained further.

Under the rules of VYSA, Lanigan would have been background checked by his affiliated club via the “Kidsafe” program every two years. Considering previous felonies would deny a coach from receiving their clearances, it is assumed those background checks came back clean.

Edwards also said that to her knowledge, only two other individuals had ever been suspended for crimes involving minors, both of whom were convicted and are serving, or have served, jail time. They are Ralph Shipler and Carl Desei, each of whom are indefinitely suspended from VYSA, and thus any U.S. Youth Soccer-sanctioned event or organization.

The Virginia High School League also confirmed that they had no direct say in the matter, telling Potomac Soccer Wire, “Individuals are employees of the school districts, and it is the policy of those organizations to deal with their own individuals.”

As of this writing, it was not clear if Lanigan is still in custody, as Fairfax County Police did not return phone calls inquiring about his status in their process. [Updated: Lanigan was arrained on Tuesday, February 2nd, and released on a $50,000 bond. He has a court date set for March 1, 2010.]

Despite the charges, many in the soccer community are coming to Lanigan’s defense, with a news report on Fox 5 news, and subsequent article comments by readers stating how uncharacteristic this is of the long-time coach.

“Absolutely not. No way. Shock. Disbelief. There is no way he could do something like this. He’s a good person. Good teacher. Good father. Good friend and good coach. It’s surprising,” parent Bonnie Candel told Fox.


EDITOR'S NOTE: Lanigan was subsequently found not guilty on all charges, as further investigation revealed that his accusor had fabricated her story with the intention of taking revenge on him for threatening to report her for bullying other students. Read the rest of PSW's coverage below.

[ +Accomplished soccer coach Sean Lanigan found not guilty ]

[ +Click here for Travis Clark’s PSW profile of Lanigan from last summer ]

[ +Road to recovery winds on for Northern Virginia youth coach Sean Lanigan (Video) ]

[ +Click here for the Washington Post’s coverage of Lanigan’s acquittal ]