Former Olympian Hearn pleads not guilty to Pool vandalism

Former Olympic canoeist David Hearn pleaded not guilty on Thursday to a felony charge of destroying property after allegedly damaging the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool in Washington, D.C. The 67-year-old athlete was released without restrictions by D.C. Superior Court Judge Carmen McLean, who rejected a prosecution request to bar him from the site.

Hearn was indicted last week on a single felony count of destruction of property valued at $1,000 or more, a charge that carries a maximum sentence of 10 years. U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro alleges that on June 19, Hearn willfully ripped a piece of recently installed sealant from the bottom of the pool. She claims witnesses saw him forcefully and violently pulling up the liner with both hands, damaging approximately two square feet of the new "American Flag Blue" coating.

Hearn, who represented the United States in the 1992, 1996, and 2000 Summer Olympics, was arrested by U.S. Park Police that day. He has consistently denied the allegations, stating he only touched a piece of lining that was already detached and floating in the water to see what it felt like. He maintains the condition of the pool was...