France's ice skating chief resigns over coach sex abuse scandalDidier Gailhaguet had been under intense pressure to resign following claims that a coach raped a skater in her teensPARIS - The under-fire president of France's ice skating federation Didier Gailhaguet resigned on Saturday over his handling of accusations that a former national coach raped a top skater when she was in her teens. In an autobiography published last month, Abitbol alleged Beyer raped her several times from 1990 to 1992 when she was between the ages of 15 and 17. Helene Godard accused Beyer and another coach Jean-Roland Racle of sexual abuse when she was a minor. Gailhaguet's long period at the helm of French ice skating, which began in 1998 was interrupted by a three-year international ban following a judging scandal at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics . Before the scandal erupted French ice skating's reputation had already been tarnished by an investigation into US-based skater Morgan Cipres for allegedly sending lewd photographs to a 13-year-old girl.

Source: Bangkok Post February 08, 2020 20:59 UTC