saber A sabre or saber ( ) is a type of backsword with a curved blade associated with the light cavalry of the Early Modern warfare, early modern and Napoleonic period, Napoleonic periods. Originally associated with Central European cavalry such a ...

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

Intercollegiate Fencing Association The Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) was the oldest collegiate fencing conference in the United States. It was affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Membership In its final season, the IFA had 11 members. Corne ...

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in ...

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

Ridge High School Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school o ...

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization set up to reduce sexual abuse of minors and athletes in Olympic sports in the United States. Established in 2017 under the Protecting Young Victims from Sex ...

Hampton Hampton may refer to: Places Australia *Hampton bioregion, an IBRA biogeographic region in Western Australia * Hampton, New South Wales *Hampton, Queensland, a town in the Toowoomba Region * Hampton, Victoria ** Hampton railway station, Melbour ...

Hunterdon County, New Jersey Hunterdon County is a county located in the western section of the U.S. state of New Jersey. At the 2020 census, the county was the state's 4th-least populous county,Clifton, in

Passaic County Passaic County ( or ) is a county in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the county was the state's eighth-most-populous county,

and in Watchung in Somerset County. He attended

North Hunterdon High School North Hunterdon High School is a four-year regional public high school serving students from six municipalities in northern Hunterdon County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is one of two high schools in the North Hunterdon-Voorhees Regiona ...

. In 1989, Kovacs won the

United States Fencing Association The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded in 1891 as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of New York fencers seeking indepe ...

(USFA) Under-17 saber championship, and in 1990 he won the USFA Under-20 (Junior) saber championship. He was coached at the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

by

Vasil Etropolski Vasil Etropolski (born 18 March 1959) is a Bulgarian fencer and fencing coach. He competed in the individual and team sabre events at the 1980 and 1988 Summer Olympics. He also won the 1983 sabre world championship. He is the twin brother of K ...

, the 1983 saber world champion from Bulgaria.

College career

Kovacs then attended

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

('95) in New York City, where he majored in Eastern European History and Economics.Evan Rosenman (June 8, 2008)
"Mr. Stephen Kovacs Departs for Wall Street,"
''The Pingry Record'', p. 6. There, he fenced for the Columbia Lions fencing team from 1990 to 1994, and was team captain. He overcame a serious fencing injury, after in 1992 suffering a rupture of his Achilles tendon while lunging during a college tournament. In 1994 he became the first fencer to win four consecutive

Intercollegiate Fencing Association The Intercollegiate Fencing Association (IFA) was the oldest collegiate fencing conference in the United States. It was affiliated with the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC). Membership In its final season, the IFA had 11 members. Corne ...

championships, and came in fourth in the NCAA Saber Championship; Kovacs was also an

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

First Team All American in 1991, 1993, and 1994, and was four-time First Team All-

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

(in 1991–94). In 1994, when he was 22 years old, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' reported that he was thought to have a good shot at making the 1996 US Olympic fencing team. Columbia presented him with its Outstanding Senior Athlete Award and the George Cointe Award for Sportsmanship and Excellence. Kovacs was also part of the New York Athletic Club saber team led by Olympians Paul Friedberg and John Friedberg that won the 1993 USFA saber team championship.

Professional career

Early in his career, Kovacs was a securities trader for Datek/Heartland Securities from 1996 to 1997, Assent LLC from 2008 to 2009, WTS Proprietary Trading Group from 2010 to 2013, and Tradescape/

E*TRADE E*TRADE is an investment brokerage and electronic trading platform that operates as a subsidiary of Morgan Stanley. History In 1982, physicist William A. Porter and Bernard A. Newcomb founded TradePlus in Palo Alto, California, with $15,00 ...

. From 2007 to 2008, Kovacs taught sixth grade Humanities and began his coaching career by coaching fencing at the

Pingry School The Pingry School is a coeducational, independent, college preparatory country day school in New Jersey, with a Lower School (K–5) campus in the Short Hills neighborhood of Millburn, a Middle (6–8) and Upper School (9–12) campus in ...

in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey. He left to work in business on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

. In August 2009, Kovacs was named the head men's fencing coach at

Stevens Institute of Technology Stevens Institute of Technology is a Private university, private research university in Hoboken, New Jersey. Founded in 1870, it is one of the oldest technological universities in the United States and was the first college in America solely de ...

in

Hoboken Hoboken ( ; ) is a city in Hudson County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Hoboken is part of the New York metropolitan area and is the site of Hoboken Terminal, a major transportation hub. As of the 2020 United States census, the city's popula ...

, New Jersey."Kovacs Named Head Men's Fencing Coach,"
Steven Ducks, August 28, 2009. The team had a 13–7 record for the season. At the same time, Kovacs served as an assistant saber coach at the New York Athletic Club. In August 2010, Kovacs became an Assistant Fencing Coach at

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

, in

Durham, North Carolina Durham ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina and the county seat of Durham County, North Carolina, Durham County. Small portions of the city limits extend into Orange County, North Carolina, Orange County and Wake County, North Carol ...

, a position he held through 2013. There he mentored three-time NCAA women's saber champion Becca Ward. In 2013, Kovacs joined the staff of Medeo Fencing Club in Bridgewater, in Somerset County, New Jersey. In 2013–18, Kovacs was also a fifth grade teacher and taught fencing to girls and boys at the Princeton Junior School, in

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, in Mercer County, New Jersey. In 2018, Kovacs founded and thereafter owned Kaprica United Fencing Academy in Bound Brook, in Somerset County, New Jersey, where he was head coach. Kovacs was appointed the

Ridge High School Ridge High School is a four-year comprehensive community public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Bernards Township in Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary school o ...

head boys’ fencing coach by the Bernards Township School District on November 11, 2019, for a salary of $8,542. The school is in the Basking Ridge section of Bernards Township, in Somerset County, New Jersey. The boys and girls fencing teams practice together and go to meets together. In January 2020, the boys' team won the overall title in the Cetrullo Tournament, New Jersey's most important regular-season tournament. He was head coach through February 2021. A number of fencers on the school team attended the nearby Kaprica Fencing Academy, which Kovacs owned and where he was head coach.

Arrests and SafeSport suspension

Arrests

On October 13, 2021, Kovacs was arrested at the Somerset County (New Jersey) Prosecutor’s Office by detectives from the Bridgewater Township Sex Crimes/Child Abuse Unit for allegedly sexually assaulting two teenagers. His encounters with both teenagers took place in his capacity as a fencing coach, within Bridgewater Township in Somerset County. A 16-year-old girl reported being sexually assaulted by Kovacs in Bridgewater multiple times in August and September 2021. An affidavit of

probable cause In United States criminal law, probable cause is the legal standard by which police authorities have reason to obtain a warrant for the arrest of a suspected criminal and for a court's issuing of a search warrant. One definition of the standar ...

filed by police in support of charges against Kovacs said that he first preyed on teens while on long-distance trips with them for competitions. The affidavit said that Kovacs assaulted the 16-year-old in May 2019, at a competition in

Salt Lake City, Utah Salt Lake City, often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. It is the county seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Salt ...

that due to its distance from New Jersey required an overnight stay. It said that she reported that on three occasions in August 2021, Kovacs picked her up at her home and then drove her to a parking lot in Bridgewater to sexually assault her. In September 2021, Kovacs was "provided temporary shelter" at the girl’s Somerset County home for five nights. On at least three of those nights, Kovacs allegedly sexually assaulted her. He also allegedly sexually assaulted her in Bound Brook days later. Soon after, Kovacs informed SafeSport that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. Kovacs also emailed the girl’s parents, telling them he planned to "sell his business and leave," so that they "would not have to worry about him anymore." In addition, a 19-year-old female teenager reported being sexually assaulted by Kovacs in Bridgewater multiple times from January to December 2020, when she was 18 years old. The affidavit said that Kovacs assaulted her first in April 2019, at a competition in Europe that required an overnight stay. She also said Kovacs sent her a sexually explicit video in January 2020, that showed him viewing her

Snapchat Snapchat is an American multimedia social media and instant messaging app and service developed by Snap Inc., originally Snapchat Inc. One of the principal features of the app are that pictures and messages, known as "snaps", are usually availa ...

account. The teen also said Kovacs sexually assaulted her multiple times during the year in Bound Brook. Kovacs was charged with two counts of second degree

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

and two counts of third degree endangering the welfare of a child, and imprisoned in the Somerset County Jail in

Somerville Somerville may refer to: Places Australia *Somerville, Victoria, a town **Somerville railway station * Somerville, Western Australia, a suburb of Kalgoorlie, Australia New Zealand * Somerville, New Zealand, a suburb of Manukau City, New Zea ...

, New Jersey, pending a bail detention hearing. On October 19, Kovacs was released from jail as a result of his detention hearing. However, three days after he was released, on October 22, a follow-up investigation determined that Kovacs had given false statements under oath during his detention hearing. Consequently, at his home Kovacs was arrested again. He was charged with felony fourth degree false swearing, and incarcerated once again in the Somerset County Jail, pending a detention hearing.

SafeSport suspension

As early as September 2021, Kovacs had reported himself to the

United States Center for SafeSport The United States Center for SafeSport is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization set up to reduce sexual abuse of minors and athletes in Olympic sports in the United States. Established in 2017 under the Protecting Young Victims from Sex ...

, informing them that he had an inappropriate relationship with a minor. SafeSport had been set up under the auspices of the Protecting Young Victims from Sexual Abuse and Safe Sport Authorization Act of 2017, and is charged with addressing the problem of sexual abuse of minors and amateur athletes in sport. Its primary responsibility is to review allegations of sexual misconduct, and to impose sanctions—up to banning a person for their lifetime from involvement in all Olympic sports.Nadia Brown (2020)
''Me Too Political Science,''
Taylor & Francis. On October 29, 2021, SafeSport temporarily suspended Kovacs, pending an investigation by it of allegations against Kovacs.

Suicide in jail

On January 15, 2022, Kovacs committed suicide (aged 50) in Somerset County Jail. An investigation was initiated. His death was investigated by the Morris County (New Jersey) Prosecutor's Office, to avoid any potential appearance of a conflict of interest. The New Jersey Office of Public Integrity and Accountability, which reports to the

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confi ...

, will support and review the results of the investigation. According to a later lawsuit, the autopsy report stated that he had hanged himself with a laundry bag tied around his neck. Kovacs was married and had two children. In January 2024, the children filed suit in Somerset County Superior Court, alleging the jail was negligent in not following its

suicide prevention Suicide prevention is a collection of efforts to reduce the risk of suicide. Suicide is often preventable, and the efforts to prevent it may occur at the individual, relationship, community, and society level. Suicide is a serious public healt ...

policy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kovacs, Stephen 1972 births 2022 deaths 2022 suicides American fencing coaches American male sabre fencers American people who died in prison custody Child abuse incidents and cases Child sexual abuse in the United States Crime in New Jersey Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Columbia Lions fencers Duke Blue Devils coaches Fencers from New Jersey North Hunterdon High School alumni People charged with perjury People charged with sex crimes People from Hampton, New Jersey People from Watchung, New Jersey People who died by suicide in prison custody Prisoners who died in New Jersey detention Sportspeople from Hunterdon County, New Jersey Sportspeople from Clifton, New Jersey Sportspeople from Somerset County, New Jersey Stevens Tech Ducks coaches Sexual assaults in the United States Sports controversies Suicides by hanging in New Jersey Violence against children 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life