By Canadian Press

CP NewsAlert: Canadian skating coach Richard Gauthier given 12 months for sex assault

Nov 6, 2023 | 1:25 PM

MONTREAL — A renowned Canadian pairs skating coach has been sentenced to 12 months in jail for sexual assault and gross indecency.

Richard Gauthier was found guilty in January of two charges dating back to the 1980s involving a teenage male skater whom he trained.

He was acquitted of a third count of indecent assault against the victim, whose identity is covered by a publication ban.

Quebec court Judge Josée Bélanger said today that a jail sentence was appropriate because of the age of the victim, who was 14 or 15 at the time, and because of the position of trust Gauthier held over him as his coach.

Gauthier, 61, spent more than three decades training world-class pairs skaters.

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He was inducted into the Skate Canada Hall of Fame as a coach in 2015, though he has since been expelled from the organization.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 6, 2023.

The Canadian Press