Former coach’s victims allege Alpine Canada cover-up

MONTREAL— A lawsuit filed Wednesday against Alpine Canada by three victims of former national ski coach Bertrand Charest alleges the sports federation covered up the sexual abuse in the interest of results on the slopes and sponsorship money.

“The plaintiffs were sacrificed by Alpine (Canada) on the altar of performance and sponsors,” the statement of claim says. The women are former Canadian skiers Geneviève Simard, Gail Kelly and Anna Prchal, who were all minors at the time of the sex-related crimes for which Charest was convicted in June 2017. They are each seeking $300,000 in damages for psychological, physical and sexual abuse they suffered. They are also seeking $150,000 each in punitive damages.

The suit, which has not been tested in court, says Alpine Canada did not take even the most basic steps to prevent the abuse. It alleges the organization was made aware of Char- est’s troubling behaviour before it hired him in 1996.

After it became known in 1998 that Charest was having sexual relations with a number of his young skiers, Alpine Canada’s program director at the time, Joze Sparovec, was dispatched to the French Alps — where the team was competing — to deal with the crisis.

The lawsuit says that in a frosty meeting with Sparovec and two team officials, Simard remained silent about the abuse while Prchal and another skier, Allison Forsyth, acknowl- edged they had been abused. Kelly, in a state of “significant emotional and psychological distress,” met Sparovec alone.

The lawsuit alleges Kelly was asked to sign a document promising not to take legal action against Alpine Canada if the incidents adversely affected her athletic career. It says she signed without even reading the document.

Charest was forced to resign as a national coach, but Alpine Canada never withdrew his coaching licence, the suit alleges. And it says that “even though a crime had been committed against minors,” Alpine Canada did not notify police.

Alpine Canada said Wednesday it is studying the details of the lawsuit and declined a request for an interview. In a statement, the federation said discussions with Charest’s victims continue, and it is providing support to the extent that it is able.

Charest was sentenced last December to 12 years in prison for sex crimes. He is appealing both the verdict and his sentence.