SafeSport Center to Grassley: ‘Should have been additional scrutiny’ on ex-cop’s hiring

By: Eddie Pells, The Associated Press Posted: 6:22 PM CDT Monday, May. 5, 2025

The top lawyer for the U.S. Center for SafeSport wrote to Sen. Chuck Grassley that “there should have been additional scrutiny” when the center learned a vice cop it was considering hiring as an investigator had been subject to an internal investigation at his last job.

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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 05/05/2025 (512 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The center ended up hiring Jason Krasley, who was later charged with rape and other felonies from episodes that happened when he worked as an officer in Allentown, Pennsylvania. About 2 1/2 years after bringing him on, the center fired Krasley when it learned of his arrest for allegedly stealing money seized in a drug sting he participated in while with the force.

The Krasley affair led to the center’s CEO, Ju’Riese Colon, losing her job two weeks ago. It was general connsel Jessica Perrill who responded last week to a letter originally directed to Colon from Grassley, R-Iowa.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, listens as U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer testifies before the Senate Finance Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, April 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Among Grassley’s questions were why the center hired the former cop knowing he was subject of an internal investigation.

“There should have been additional scrutiny into the concerning statements by the reference, which would prompt additional scrutiny today,” Perrill wrote. “Unfortunately, we have been unable to find any evidence of further inquiry by the Center into the internal investigation.”

Perrill referenced a letter sent March 14 by Colon to Grassley that outlined stronger hiring policies the center has implemented in the wake of Krasley’s arrest.

They include enhanced reference checks and access to the National Decertification Index, which keeps track of officers who have been sanctioned because of misconduct.

Perrill wrote that the center learned on Sept. 4, 2024, of the 2019 theft allegations against Krasley and others involving harrasment from a separate arrest in June 2024. But, she said, the agency took no action because “law enforcement” asked the center to not do anything to tip off Krasley about a criminal investigation.

In the two months between learning about the allegations and firing Krasley, Perrill said the center “closely monitored Krasley’s work.”

“Nothing of concern was observed during this period,” Perrill wrote.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports