‘Something positive:’ Victims of ski coach urging Ottawa to make sport safer
CALGARY — Two victims of disgraced national ski coach Bertrand Charest joined former NHL player Sheldon Kennedy on Friday to demand immediate action from the federal government to combat abuse in sports.
Charest was found guilty in June 2017 of 37 sex-related charges and was given a 12-year prison term.
The convictions involved nine of 12 women who’d accused him of crimes that occurred more than 20 years ago when they were between the ages of 12 and 19.
“Our story is horrible. It has affected our lives. Some dreams were never accomplished because we had this predator that came into our lives,” said Genevieve Simard, who was joined by Amelie-Frederique Gagnon at a news conference at the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre in Calgary.