Former gymnastics coach faces sex abuse charges

A FORMER gymnastics coach from Joburg is out on bail after he was arrested last week on sexual offence charges.

On Monday, Gymnastics SA issued a statement confirming that a coach, previously registered with the SA Gymnastics Federation (SAGF), was arrested on sexual offence charges last week.

The coach’s name was withheld to protect the identity of his alleged victims, who were minors.

Gymnastics SA president Donovan Jurgens said: “We take the safety and well-being of all our gymnasts and coaches very seriously. We appeal to all our clubs, districts and provinces to ensure that everybody participates in gymnastics in an environment which is safe and free from any form of harassment or abuse.”

Athletes Against Child Abuse (Aaca), an initiative of Women and Men Against Child Abuse (WMACA), said on Wednesday that the NGO was monitoring the case and its representatives accompanied one of the alleged victims, who laid a charge at the Sophiatown police station.

“The accused was apprehended at his home in the presence of the victim and our representative. The victim had to identify him. He was released on bail earlier this week,” the WMACA’s Olivia Jasriel said.

The organisation confronted Gymnastics SA over the allegations brought to them by the victims, who are known to WMACA.

“SAGF initially denied any knowledge of any misconduct or allegations of abuse within their fraternity. We established that they in fact conducted an internal investigation, which did not provide an outcome that was acceptable due to the fact that the allegations related to the sexual assault of minors. It was not the place of the federation to conduct these investigations internally. They were obligated to report this to the police,” Jasriel said.

In response, Jurgens told The Star yesterday that the federation followed all the processes outlined in their safeguarding policy at the time.

“As this is a criminal matter, Gymnastics SA is not at liberty to discuss any further information directly related to the case.

“Gymnastics SA would like to respect the processes regarding criminal matters and allow all parties to have a fair investigation and trial. As such, we will uphold confidentiality as is required by the law,” he said.

WMACA said that it would support the victims and any others who came forward.

“We want their experience of activating the justice system to be as seamless as possible to avoid them suffering further trauma as a result of the systemic challenges that make reporting of allegations of sexual abuse and rape extremely traumatic for victims,” Jasriel said.

According to Gymnastics SA, the coach will not be allowed to register as a member, and the SAGF also recommended that the coach be suspended from the International Gymnastics Federation website as an international coach, pending the outcome of the investigation and criminal case.

Jurgens said Gymnastics SA would release a report on the processes to be followed pending the outcome of the criminal matter.