Alpine Skiing: Former Canadian ski trainer sentenced for sexual assault

Former Canadian ski trainer Bertrand Charest has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for sexual assault in 37 cases. This was decided by a court in Saint-Jerome in the province of Quebec.

Former Canadian ski trainer Bertrand Charest (52) has been sentenced to 12 years imprisonment for sexual assault in 37 cases. This was decided by a court in Saint-Jerome in the province of Quebec. The youngest victims were only twelve years old. Between 1996 and 1998, Charest supervised the young girls’ team of the Canadian Alpine Canada Ski Association. After deducting the time already served, he still has a remaining penalty of seven years and ten months.

Judge Sylvain Lepine explained that Charest did not understand the seriousness of the consequences of his actions. The judge also criticized Alpine Canada. He said that the association had closed its eyes to the victims’ statements. Moreover, there was no “safety net” for such situations. Alpine Canada apologized to the victims in a statement.

“Instead of being there for the athletes and offering them support when the incidents were discovered, Alpine Canada put its own interests above those of the victims,”said Martha Hall Findlay, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Alpine Canada.

On Friday, the news magazine Der Spiegel reported that the German Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) wants to take tougher action against sexual violence in sport. Accordingly, the funding guidelines for top-level sport will be supplemented in the future by measures against abuse.

The plans of the BMI, which is also responsible for sport, would stipulate that associations would anchor the fight against sexual violence in their statutes, appoint prevention officers and contact persons in their ranks and have their employees submit certificates of conduct, including voluntary ones. The sports associations are to incorporate a code of ethics into their employees’ contracts of employment and train employees.

Any association wishing to receive federal subsidies would have to prove that it meets all the requirements. Only then would the application for funding be examined, according to the plan. There will also be random checks.