Coach, girl found semi-nude, mom testifies
The co-head coach of a girls’ under-14 ringette team says he twice had to talk to his assistant coach, Kelsea Joy Hepburn, about favouritism toward certain players, but never saw anything indicating criminal sexual conduct.
Darren Gerlitz, testifying at Hepburn’s trial for sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching, said Tuesday that he was advised by the complainant’s father about the coach having his 13-year-old daughter sit on her lap during an early-season team function in October 2010.
The father, he said, was also concerned about the coach and his daughter, among others, walking hand in hand with the female assistant coach.
Gerlitz said he told Hepburn it was better if she treated the complainant as a player and had no physical contact whatsoever.
“She was angry. She fin- ished the party, didn’t say much and left afterwards,” Gerlitz told Crown prosecutor Vicki Faulkner.
“She stayed clear of (the complainant) for some time, then it started again just before or after Christmas.
“We had a meeting (stressing) that we’ve got to keep the team together and not show favouritism to any player. They (Hepburn and complainant) were always hanging out together. In games, she’d always compliment (the complainant) and there were not too many compliments going to the other girls.”
Under cross-examination, Gerlitz told defence lawyer Maureen McConaghy that Hepburn was very committed, fun, brought a lot of energy to the team and helped players with the mental aspect and skills.
He also agreed that the team dynamics included a lot of hugging, but not as much as the year before.
Earlier, the complainant’s father said he and his wife invited Hepburn to their home during the season and confronted the assistant coach about inappropriate sexual contact.
He said in the one-hour meeting in late January 2011 that he told Hepburn that she “had a job as a mentor and role model” and that such conduct with their daughter was wrong.
The father told Faulkner that Hepburn apologized but said it wasn’t sexual.
As well, he said, his daughter and the coach told him what they were doing and the text messages they were sending back and forth to each other was a joke.
One of the messages, court heard, was from Hepburn, then 22, to the girl saying, “I love you, I can’t wait to hold you.”
The father, however, warned Hepburn that if there was any recurrence, the next step would be to go to the police.
The girl’s mother testified that on March 22, 2011, she came home and found the coach and her daughter in the basement of their home without their pants on.
She said she told Hepburn to go upstairs, then she went upstairs and told her to leave. She then called police and reported the illicit conduct.
Under cross-examination, the complainant’s father told McConaghy that he didn’t think he needed to go to the ringette association regarding the conduct, but would go straight to police.
He admitted he knew his daughter and the coach were sending text messages to each other and talking on the phone late at night. He said he also knew the coach and his wife were exchanging text messages after the lateJanuary meeting.
The father denied he had Hepburn over to his house to eat at any time after the meeting.
He denied the lawyer’s suggestion that he did not have a good relationship with his daughter, saying “I had a great relationship with her” at the time.
The trial before Justice Paul Jeffrey continues.