2 Olympic Taekwondo coaches sued for sexual assault

Two brothers famous in the world of Taekwondo are now being sued by two former students who say they were sexually assaulted by the men.

Separate lawsuits were filed against Steven and Jean Lopez by two women who claim the coaches assaulted them on more than one occasion. Steven Lopez was banned earlier this month after being found guilty of sexual misconduct and sexual misconduct involving a minor.

The lawsuit against Steven Lopez says he first noticed the plaintiff, Amber Means Randall of California, when she was 13 and told her she was pretty and “would grow up to be tall.” Randall’s family moved to Texas so she could train at the Lopez Elite Taekwondo school in Houston when she was 14.

When Randall was 17, Steven began taking her on “dates,” and the lawsuit claims he first sexually assaulted her after taking her to see a movie. The pair had sexual contact on multiple occasions after that in multiple states, including at the USA Taekwondo National Championships in 2008. The lawsuit also claims that Lopez was having sex with underage athletes “at various tournaments around the world, including at the 2008 Olympic Games.”

Randall’s “relationship” with Steven ended before she turned 18, the lawsuit claims. About a month later, Randall was invited to a party, where she remembers drinking a Gatorade mixed with vodka before she blacked out. She woke up and the owner of the residence told her Lopez had raped her while she was passed out, according to the suit.

The second lawsuit was filed by Heidi Gilbert against Jean Lopez. The U.S. Center for SafeSport found Jean guilty of sexually assaulting her and another woman, and Gilbert’s lawsuit says it started with Jean attempting to “wrestle” with her before assaulting her after the 2002 Pan-Am Games.

The lawsuit says in 2003, Gilbert was at a party with Jean and several other people. At that party, Jean was “sexually aggressive with Heidi.” The suit claims Jean gave Gilbert a drink that caused her to almost pass out before he groped her and performed sex acts on her at a hotel.

Gilbert says she left Texas after an incident with Peter Lopez in which he demanded sexual favors. She says similar events happened with Jean in Colorado.

The women are requesting damages because of the assaults.

We’ve reached out to the U.S. Olympic Committee for comment.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.