Samaranch Sports Channel reported on February 16 that a Greek sailing coach was arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting an 11-year-old athlete.
The 38-year-old man was arrested on Samos Island on charges of crimes committed nine years ago, the Japan Times reported on January 25.
After talking to the victim, former Olympic champion Sophia Becaturu provided prosecutors with evidence that the 20-year-old young girl was sexually assaulted.
The young athlete and his parents also provided evidence to the prosecution.
In an anonymous media interview, the alleged 38-year-old man said he did not sexually assault the young girl, claimed that the two were in a relationship, and said that he wanted to marry the girl.
Bekatoru, 43, is the mother of two children.
She won gold medals and bronze medals in the Olympic sailing events in 2004 and 2008, respectively.
She said that during the 2000 Sydney Olympics, she was “sexually harassed and abused” by a senior official in a hotel room at the age of 21.
According to the Athens News Agency, several other female athletes have stepped forward since Bekaturu made the scandal of the Sailing Association public, but these complaints have been unable to file for too long.
The Greek Olympic Committee and the government urged other victims of sexual assault to come forward and expose their crimes.
