‘Nobody innocent hangs themself’: US figure skater accuses deceased partner of sexual abuse
US pairs skater Bridget Namiotka has accused her former partner John Coughlin of sexual assault, making her statement four months after the man took his own life in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations.
In a series of Facebook posts Namiotka claimed to have been continuously assaulted by her ex-partner, alleging that he had killed himself after his sexual crimes began to surface.
“I’m sorry but John hurt at least 10 people including me. He sexually abused me for 2 years. Nobody innocent hangs themselves,” she wrote on her Facebook page.
“Think about the victims when you’re speaking up for what he did to at least 10 girls,” the skater added.
Namiotka teamed up with Coughlin in 2004 when she was 14, spending three full seasons with the skater before splitting up in 2007. In 2006, the couple won silver medals at the junior national championship.
Last December, the US sport which was steadily recovering from the outrageous Nassar sexual-abuse scandal, was hit again after allegations of sexual misconduct were brought against Coughlin, a skater who represented the country at major international figure skating events.
SafeSport, an independent nonprofit organization which describes its goals as battling against “all forms of abuse in sport,” suspended Coughlin from figure skating after it launched investigations into sexual abuse allegations brought against him.
Also on rt.com ‘Culture of sexual abuse': Senator says US figure skating needs immediate changeA day after his interim suspension and one week before the US Championships, Coughlin died by suicide at the age of 33.
