Renowned US figure skating coach Richard Callaghan, who led Tara Lipinski to 1998 Olympic gold, has been slapped with a lifetime ban over allegations of sexual misconduct involving underage boys.
The US center for SafeSport, a non-profit organization which investigates all forms of abuse in sport, declared Callaghan “permanently ineligible” after accusations of sexual abuse were brought against him by two former male skaters.
The decision came just 12 days after Callaghan’s former skating student Adam Schmidt filed a lawsuit against the 73-year-old figure skating specialist claiming that he was systematically abused by his coach from 1999 to 2001.
Schmidt, who is now 34, said that the alleged sexual abuse began when he was just 14 years old.
Another former skater turned Olympic coach Craig Maurizi also claimed he suffered sexual assault while training under Callaghan.
In January 2018 Maurizi detailed Callaghan’s alleged sexual misconduct which he claims to have started when he was just 13. The 56-year-old said that he and his coach eventually started to have sex once he was 18 and continued doing so until he was 22.
The skater previously accused his former coach of sexual assault in April 1999. However his grievance was dismissed on procedural grounds.
The famed coach, who was first suspended in March 2018 following Maurizi’s revelation, has repeatedly denied all accusations brought against him.