overedge
Mayor of Carrot City
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Abuse/harassment wasn't among the reasons that were rumored at the time.
Richard Gauthier accused of sexual harassment (1981-85)
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VarBar
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I have this gut feeling that we haven't even heard the half of it.
I always thought it was because Jaime missed home and wanted to go back to Alberta.
overedge
Mayor of Carrot City
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I'm just going to repeat that abuse/harassment was not one of the issues that was rumoured as the cause. Anything else is up to them to tell if they want to.
yfbg722
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He didn't move to Oakville.
overedge
Mayor of Carrot City
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Thank you, that was clarified earlier in the thread.
jersey1302
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no, you're right, I didnt intend that,it was just more a legit question based on ages, I had no idea of the where abouts and reasons, I saw PD and reversed the letters. I wasn't meaning for a rumor, just my question.
dramagrrl
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If I remember correctly, the "official" reason they gave for moving to Alberta is that they felt their pairs skills were strong, but they (especially Jamie) needed help with side-by-jumps, and Jan Ullmark had helped her with her triples when she was skating singles.
Sylvia
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Bumping this thread back up after almost 1.5 years - articles about Gauthier's trial, published in LaPress.ca:
March 16:
Procès d'un ex-entraîneur de patinage artistique
March 17:
Richard Gauthier admet avoir dormi nu avec son jeune athlète
March 18:
Récit « invraisemblable » de l'accusé, plaide la Couronne
March 16:
Procès d'un ex-entraîneur de patinage artistique
March 17:
Richard Gauthier admet avoir dormi nu avec son jeune athlète
March 18:
Récit « invraisemblable » de l'accusé, plaide la Couronne
skategal
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An article in English.
themediaword.com
Trial of a former figure skating coach | Richard Gauthier admits having slept naked with his young athlete
Despite admitting to showering and sleeping naked with a young athlete 40 years ago, figure skating coach Richard Gauthier denied on Thursday having done anything sexual. If he remained naked, it was only so as not to make the teenager “uncomfortable”, justified the accused. The coach with a...
themediaword.com
MacMadame
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That was creepy.An article in English.
Trial of a former figure skating coach | Richard Gauthier admits having slept naked with his young athlete
Despite admitting to showering and sleeping naked with a young athlete 40 years ago, figure skating coach Richard Gauthier denied on Thursday having done anything sexual. If he remained naked, it was only so as not to make the teenager “uncomfortable”, justified the accused. The coach with a...
That crosses so many boundaries I can't even count them. Is this a jury trial?An article in English.
Trial of a former figure skating coach | Richard Gauthier admits having slept naked with his young athlete
Despite admitting to showering and sleeping naked with a young athlete 40 years ago, figure skating coach Richard Gauthier denied on Thursday having done anything sexual. If he remained naked, it was only so as not to make the teenager “uncomfortable”, justified the accused. The coach with a...
overedge
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No, a judge is hearing the case. The last article @Sylvia linked says that the trial is going to continue in May. It sounds like both the defense and the Crown have made summary arguments, but it's not clear if the judge is going to deliver her verdict then or whether there will be more testimony.
Colonel Green
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If I had been assigned as his defence attorney, I would have strongly advised against admitting to...any of the things he admits to here.An article in English.
Trial of a former figure skating coach | Richard Gauthier admits having slept naked with his young athlete
Despite admitting to showering and sleeping naked with a young athlete 40 years ago, figure skating coach Richard Gauthier denied on Thursday having done anything sexual. If he remained naked, it was only so as not to make the teenager “uncomfortable”, justified the accused. The coach with a...
overedge
Mayor of Carrot City
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I wondered about that too. I can only guess that because there was a witness (the skater's roommate at the time) who was able to verify the skater's description of what went on - i.e. what the skater described to her at the time it happened - the defense decided it might be safer to get Gauthier to acknowledge what happened, and explain why he did what he did. Rather than getting into quibbling over details of competing stories.
skatingguy
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It's interesting that the decision was made to have Gauthier testify at all.
Desperado
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From these articles, I believe the victim, who’s age was between 11 and 14 at the time. So very disgusting, and I can’t believe he only did it with one child.
skatingguy
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I hope that if there are other survivors that they can come forward, and tell there story, and maybe find some healing, and peace.
AYS
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Yep, and it surely didn't only happen 40 years ago.
Everything is so wrong !
Whatever his defense is , its just unacceptable in my opinion.
After reading the articles :
1) you should NEVER have as an ADULT a CHILD (your own student) naked in your private home bathroom, in your shower and than in your BED !!!
2) and that not once but many times !
3) he also had a woman living with him , who was aware that a child was there … in the bathroom, having showers together than in his room sleeping together … and never reacted? Or thought it was wrong ?
That I will never understand.
That is another problem in society , sometimes people prefer to close their eyes on events , they know very well they are not right , and that are actually criminal and say nothing so the abuse can go on … its so sad.
4) Than he also admits putting his head on his student’s stomach (to hear the noises) while they were both naked!
How in someone’s right mind can this be ok ? Especially once again , when he admits himself they were both naked.
Overall, those behaviors wether he will confess ALL the others as well or not , leave us all so perplexed …
don’t they realize how scared and scarred they leave those children, victims of adults very unacceptable behaviors , for a life time after that ? And I mean permanent scars without any doubts .
Shame on you for ruining a life , Mr Gauthier seriously.
Whatever his defense is , its just unacceptable in my opinion.
After reading the articles :
1) you should NEVER have as an ADULT a CHILD (your own student) naked in your private home bathroom, in your shower and than in your BED !!!
2) and that not once but many times !
3) he also had a woman living with him , who was aware that a child was there … in the bathroom, having showers together than in his room sleeping together … and never reacted? Or thought it was wrong ?
That I will never understand.
That is another problem in society , sometimes people prefer to close their eyes on events , they know very well they are not right , and that are actually criminal and say nothing so the abuse can go on … its so sad.
4) Than he also admits putting his head on his student’s stomach (to hear the noises) while they were both naked!
How in someone’s right mind can this be ok ? Especially once again , when he admits himself they were both naked.
Overall, those behaviors wether he will confess ALL the others as well or not , leave us all so perplexed …
don’t they realize how scared and scarred they leave those children, victims of adults very unacceptable behaviors , for a life time after that ? And I mean permanent scars without any doubts .
Shame on you for ruining a life , Mr Gauthier seriously.
It’s a relatively weakly translated article, the French one has more details, saying Gauthier denies everything the boy is claiming. He only admits to showering together (hello??) but didn’t touch him, spoon him and that the pool incident didn’t happen.
Gross and vile on so many levels.
Gross and vile on so many levels.
MrMorrison
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Another article from the victim’s testimony:
Trial of a former figure skating coach | “I was so scared”, says the complainant
An alleged victim of Richard Gauthier, accused in particular of sexual assault, gave a moving testimony to the court A sauna bath “ritual”, nights stuck “in a spoon” and an erotic message: the figure skating coach Richard Gauthier would have put one of his young students through an ordeal in the...
themediaword.com
Vagabond
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That is all.
Gross and vile indeed
, he also admits sleeping naked together , that after the steam bath they had , and the shower he slipped under the coverts naked thats when he admits putting his hear on the boy’s stomach which to say , all this happened while both naked again.He claims the pool incident did happen before the shower ect but that the only thing he saw was an erection inside the boy’s speedo but that he did not touch him.
There’s nothing more sad than to clearly see how much abuse of power he used on the CHILD.
Since when a teacher with no vile intention , brings a child in his own home shower and showers naked together , than slips naked under his covers to sleep with the child?
And finds this vile excuse of doing nothing else but putting his hear against the child stomach while he was naked to hear the noises happening in there , really ????
All of it is so unacceptable
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Sylvia
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Re-posting here:
www.lapresse.ca
Original article (in French) published on September 9, 2022:
Procès d’un ex-entraîneur de patinage artistique | La victime s’est soumise, mais n’a pas consenti, plaide la Couronne
L’ancien entraîneur de patinage artistique Richard Gauthier a utilisé sa position d’autorité pour soumettre sa victime à des actes sexuels auxquels elle n’a pas consenti, selon la Couronne. Une analyse que rejette la défense.
www.lapresse.ca
Desperado
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The decision came in today and he was found guilty of sexual assault and gross indecency, acquitted of the molestation charge.
victorskid
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An English article: https://globalnews.ca/news/9436267/...-found-guilty-of-sex-assault-gross-indecency/
In a statement Wednesday, Skate Canada said Gauthier "has been permanently expelled" from the national governing body for figure skating.
In a statement Wednesday, Skate Canada said Gauthier "has been permanently expelled" from the national governing body for figure skating.
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Sylvia
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AFAIK, Richard Gauthier has not been sentenced yet. Updating this thread with 2 Journal de Montreal articles by Michael Nguyen in French from August 2023:
"A former star figure skating coach who sexually abused a 14-year-old athlete now works at a pizzeria, but he might be able to return to the business, according to a former Skate Canada president [Benoît Lavoie] who praised him despite crimes that continue to haunt the victim." (August 16): https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...soutien-pour-peut-etre-revenir-dans-le-milieu
"To change mentalities: a former coach must receive 18 months, says the Crown" (August 17; includes a video report): https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...-coach-doit-ecoper-de-18-mois-dit-la-couronne
ETA a machine translated excerpt from the end:
However, while scandals concerning sexual abuse in the world of sport and education continue to appear in the news, it is time to send a strong message that young people must be protected.
“We want to put an end to the silence, we want the victims to stop being ostracized, regardless of the notoriety of the coach,” argued [Christine] Desjarlais.
So, if the community is incapable of changing mentalities, the courts can send them a strong message, she said. And that would mean sending the 61-year-old ex-coach behind bars for 18 months.
Defense lawyer Giuseppe Battista, however, responded by asserting that if Gauthier was found guilty for actions committed in the past, “he never found himself in such a situation again” for the rest of his career. and that he understood the complainant's distress, even if he does not recognize the facts.
“He apologized, he understands the situation which should not have arisen,” argued the lawyer, who represents Gauthier with Mr. Laurence Juillet St-Laurent.
Mr. Battista then recalled that the rules at the time were different, and that Gauthier then had little experience as a coach.
“We must not ostracize people for life,” he said. People are capable of getting back up, and he did it.”
Proposing 90 days in prison on weekends or a year in home confinement, in addition to community service, he recalled that the fact that Gauthier was charged after almost four decades already sent the message that even after all this time, "a person can find themselves before the courts even if they have led an exemplary life.”
Judge Josée Bélanger took her decision under advisement.
"A former star figure skating coach who sexually abused a 14-year-old athlete now works at a pizzeria, but he might be able to return to the business, according to a former Skate Canada president [Benoît Lavoie] who praised him despite crimes that continue to haunt the victim." (August 16): https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...soutien-pour-peut-etre-revenir-dans-le-milieu
"To change mentalities: a former coach must receive 18 months, says the Crown" (August 17; includes a video report): https://www.journaldemontreal.com/2...-coach-doit-ecoper-de-18-mois-dit-la-couronne
ETA a machine translated excerpt from the end:
However, while scandals concerning sexual abuse in the world of sport and education continue to appear in the news, it is time to send a strong message that young people must be protected.
“We want to put an end to the silence, we want the victims to stop being ostracized, regardless of the notoriety of the coach,” argued [Christine] Desjarlais.
So, if the community is incapable of changing mentalities, the courts can send them a strong message, she said. And that would mean sending the 61-year-old ex-coach behind bars for 18 months.
Defense lawyer Giuseppe Battista, however, responded by asserting that if Gauthier was found guilty for actions committed in the past, “he never found himself in such a situation again” for the rest of his career. and that he understood the complainant's distress, even if he does not recognize the facts.
“He apologized, he understands the situation which should not have arisen,” argued the lawyer, who represents Gauthier with Mr. Laurence Juillet St-Laurent.
Mr. Battista then recalled that the rules at the time were different, and that Gauthier then had little experience as a coach.
“We must not ostracize people for life,” he said. People are capable of getting back up, and he did it.”
Proposing 90 days in prison on weekends or a year in home confinement, in addition to community service, he recalled that the fact that Gauthier was charged after almost four decades already sent the message that even after all this time, "a person can find themselves before the courts even if they have led an exemplary life.”
Judge Josée Bélanger took her decision under advisement.
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Theatregirl1122
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Private Citizen
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Won't someone thing of the poor sex offenders?????
18 months in jail hardly seems like a harsh penalty.
With the way his attorney is talking, it's as if he were facing decades behind bars. I actually agree that we shouldn't ostracize people for life, especially if it was a one-time nonviolent (i.e., he didn't rape the guy at knifepoint/gunpoint) offense from decades ago. But what they're asking for is a tiny step above being let off scot free.
That said - if he serves his time and agrees to certain conditions like monitoring, I would be open to giving him and others a path back into the sport. But let him do some hard time first, then ask for reconciliation.