Fleet Peeples name removed from park after outcry

The namesake of a Winter Park icon has been wiped away from a city park.

Winter Park City Commissioners voted unanimously to rename Fleet Peeples Park on Monday following accusations of child molestation against the swimming instructor the park was named after.

The park will once again be known as Lake Baldwin Park – the park’s original name before a city resolution had it dedicated to resident Fleetwood Peeples Sr. in 1985.

“I don’t think we had a choice but to remove that,” City Commissioner Steven Leary said. “That’s an honor that’s given to very few in our community.”

“It’s just very sad that this occurred.”

Controversy arose when the Orlando Sentinel reported earlier this month that five women came forward to the newspaper claiming that they had been molested by the late Peeples Sr. decades prior at ages as young as 4. Alleged victims like New York resident Katherine Sanderlin chose to step forward following the arrest of Peeples Sr.’s son, Fleetwood Peeples Jr., in February for child molestation and child pornography charges.

Sanderlin, who grew up in Orlando, received swimming lessons from Peeples Sr. before she could walk. But she also remembers when an innocent camping trip with Peeples Sr. took a horrific turn.

“I was wearing a nightgown and he just reached his hand up my nightgown and he felt I was wearing underwear,” Sanderlin told the Observer earlier this month. “He said, ‘Little girls don’t wear panties to bed.’”

“I took them off and I just remember his hands doing some kind of action on the lower half of my body.”

The Orlando Sentinel reported Monday, July 14, that five more women have contacted them claiming to have been molested by Peeples Sr. since the first article was published.

Peeples Sr. had been known throughout the community for decades as a dedicated swimming instructor, reportedly teaching more than 20,000 children to swim in his lifetime. He eventually joined Winter Park High School as their first swim team coach, having a new pool at the school named after him in 1976, according to records from the Winter Park Public Library.

Peeples Sr. passed away in 1993 at the age of 95.

In 1939 the Winter Park resident’s impact on the community also earned him the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallion, the highest honor bestowed by Rollins College.

Rollins College recently requested that the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation revoke the award due to the molestation allegations, according to records from the Winter Park Public Library. The foundation agreed to remove Peeples’ name from the list of recipients, the library’s website read.

Mayor Ken Bradley said the swift renaming of the park was troubling despite voting in support of the name change.

“If what is alleged happened, obviously I’m going to vote to remove the name,” Bradley said. “I wish that there was a better due process – a way that we could check the statements in such a way not to cause harm or difficulty.”

“We’re right now making statements and changing things that are honorary, but with really what I would argue is no due process.”

“Unfortunately Mr. Peeples doesn’t have a chance to speak with us, nor ever will since he’s passed,” Bradley said.

City staff removed signs bearing the name Fleetwood Peeples Park early Tuesday morning.