A widely known former coach in Canadian pairs skating was discovered responsible on Wednesday of sexual assault and gross indecency courting again virtually 40 years.
Richard Gauthier was on trial for 3 counts in reference to crimes he dedicated within the Nineteen Eighties involving a teenage male determine skater he educated.
Gauthier, 61, was discovered responsible on two expenses, in a verdict handed down by Choose Josee Belanger in Quebec Courtroom in Montreal. He was acquitted of a 3rd cost of indecent assault towards the sufferer, whose identification is roofed by a publication ban.
“The proof exhibits past an affordable doubt that the defendant’s actions precipitated the plaintiff critical hurt,” the decide wrote in a 49-page ruling.
The sufferer was 14 on the time of the incidents whereas Gauthier was in his 20s. Gauthier coached him for about six years, till the sufferer turned 18.
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Gauthier was accused of bathing bare with the sufferer, showering with him and making out with him in a mattress on the defendant’s residence.
“These are sexual gestures that the accused made in the direction of the athlete he educated, whom the latter liked, and for whom he had nice admiration,” Belanger dominated. “Because the complainant’s proof indicated, he suffered critical psychological harm because of the conduct of the accused. This prejudice is excessive.”
The decide didn’t imagine the model of occasions of Gauthier, who was charged in 2020.
“Not solely is the accused not credible, however his testimony can be unreliable. It incorporates sure additions, flagrant contradictions, and develops over the questions requested in cross-examination,” the decide dominated.
Prosecutor Amelie Rivard informed reporters she hopes the decision will ship a message to survivors that point doesn’t erase felony conduct. She stated she hopes the ruling encourages victims of sexual assault to return ahead.
The case will return to courtroom subsequent month.
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Gauthier has spent greater than three a long time coaching world-class skaters. He was inducted into the Skate Canada Corridor of Fame in 2015 as a coach.
Gauthier introduced collectively Edmonton skating pair Jamie Salé and David Pelletier, who would win gold on the 2001 ISU World Championships and 2002 Winter Olympics.
In response to Skate Canada, Gauthier helped mentor two-time defending world pairs champions Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford.
“At his world-renowned pairs skating faculty in Saint-Leonard, Que., Gauthier additionally coaches a number of world-ranked pairs groups, together with 2016 U.S. bronze medalists Marissa Castelli and Mervin Tran and 2015 Skate Canada Worldwide bronze medalists Kirsten Moore-Towers and Michael Marinaro,” his biography reads.
Meagan Duhamel and Eric Radford of Canada hug coach Richard Gauthier (L) after competing within the Pairs Determine Skating Quick Program throughout the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on the Iceberg Skating Palace on February 6, 2014 in Sochi, Russia.
Darren Cummings/Pool/Getty Photos
Skate Canada stated in a press release Wednesday that Gauthier “has been completely suspended” from determine skating’s nationwide governing physique.
Gauthier has been suspended from the group since October 2, 2020 after it obtained affirmation of the felony expenses towards him.
“Completely suspended particular person’s rights and privileges as a member of Skate Canada have been revoked, and software for reinstatement shouldn’t be permitted,” the governing physique stated in a press release Wednesday.
In response to an entry on Skate Canada’s web site, Gauthier has been described as “the golden contact” in pairs skating, and as “one of the revered pairs coaches on the earth for the higher a part of three a long time.” The entry famous that Gauthier wished his legacy to be his teaching report.
The group stated Wednesday it’s dedicated to “offering an atmosphere the place everybody can expertise the enjoyment of skating in a secure and wholesome method.”
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