Instructor molested me on first dive

[Hammerhead]

I understand what you are saying. I am upset about the situation, but by no means am I about to start posting names or places over the internet. This forum has only shown intelligent, thought out support. I wanted to get feedback from people who are experienced in the sport and who are not my relatives (unbiased).

No-one's asking you to name and shame - there are other avenues of complaint open to you which you ought to explore, if not only for yourself, but for others who might otherwise end up diving with this creep.

To echo the words of others here, in 15 years diving, and getting on for 2,000 dives, I have never heard of an incidence like this firsthand.

I hope I never do again.

I also hope - and in equal measure - that you can recover from this, and not let it spoil your enjoyment of what can be a truly fantastic sport.

 

[Jim Lapenta]

The guy is a scumbag. Hang him out to dry. This kind of behavior is never tolerated. A pervert does not change. EVER. He will do this to someone else if he is not stopped.

 

[Walter]

I've heard of this only a few times. It's rare, but does happen. I agree with Jim. I would suggest reporting him to his agency. I do not believe any agency would condone such behavior.

 

[NielsBlokie]

This has nothing to do with diving... you are unlucky to have such an 'instructor' on your discovery dive..
Definitely prosecute this man, and report to this diving school and agency so that this won't happen again to others.

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Oh and please, do not let him ruin your feeling about diving. It is great, so definitely try it again with another instructor. And why don't you let your sister go with you?

Good luck!

 

[jmcdonne]

good advice from all of you. I'm gonna talk to the dive shop, make it history and get my certification. thanks

 

[Rhone Man]

It sounds like a criminal matter to me. Anyone who starts kissing and fondling an unqualified diver 45 feet underwater fully justifies police involvement. Take away the scuba gear, and it is simple sexual assault.

I appreciate you don't want to name names, but could you at least advise what country this happened in?

 

[jmcdonne]

No reason to name a country. I am contacting the agency (which is recognized by PADI) and trust that they will take appropriate action. It would be irresponsible for me to not report the incident, but I also am ready to just forget the whole thing. Drama is over... time to learn how to dive.

 

[ItsBruce]

...
Not to be rude or insensitive I do have to point out something for you to keep in mind. ... but over the years on this board it has been our exprience that a person who's first post is to raise an issue such as this and starts naming names and places are often not being totally accurate. ...

Sorry to disagree, but often a first post is something just like this because the incident is what motivated the user to join SB and post. That goes for assault, OOA, bad equipment, etc.

 

[Tom Smedley]

If you do a search you will find several instances of improper touching by dive leaders. Your unfortunate experience seems to be quite common in certain areas of the Caribbean. We could probably guess the country in which it happened quite accurately.

If you are willing to report it to the local authorities that's one route. But, with the obvious unprofessional behavior and violation of standards you should open an incident with the certifying agency. An investigation will be done and if the person is a repeater they may lose their credentials. The dive operator should also know. Any reputable manager would not tolerate such behavior.

There is the possibility however, that the person wasn't certified anyway.

You are a trooper to rise above it and continue with diving and I congratulate you.

 

[LCromwell]

No-one's asking you to name and shame - there are other avenues of complaint open to you which you ought to explore, if not only for yourself, but for others who might otherwise end up diving with this creep.

To echo the words of others here, in 15 years diving, and getting on for 2,000 dives, I have never heard of an incidence like this firsthand.

I hope I never do again.

I also hope - and in equal measure - that you can recover from this, and not let it spoil your enjoyment of what can be a truly fantastic sport.

I echo also, and am really surprised, but I have never dove in Mexico and really never plan to. I had a harrowing 48 hrs in a Mexican jail in 1977 and never have been back because of their Napoleonic law.(guilty till proven innocent, and I was innocent and let go!)