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“Around the time that women including myself were coming forward with our experiences of sexual assault with John Coughlin, this individual was extremely vocal against the truth of our experiences,” the former Olympic figure skater, 32, said in an Instagram story video earlier this month about USFS’ decision to hire Kelsey Parker Gislason,according toUSA Today. “… As soon as you put that out on social media, you should become unhireable for certain positions.”
Wagner added, “I want to make it clear that in this position, this person is now a mandatory reporter (of sexual assault and sexual abuse to the U.S. Center for SafeSport). And I’m sorry if my trust has been compromised in this person’s ability to believe survivors and approach this and many of these delicate situations of sexual assault with any ounce of respect, dignity or appropriate care.”
SafeSport,a watchdog organization for U.S. sports, had received three allegations of sexual assault against Coughlin at that point, includingone from his longtime skating partner Bridget Namiotka.
“I’m sorry but John hurt at least 10 people including me,” Namiotka, who skated with Coughlin from ages 14 to 17, while he was 18 to 21, wrote on Facebook. “He sexually abused me for 2 years. Nobody innocent hangs themself [sic].”
Wagner’s was reportedlythe fourth sexual assault accusationagainst Coughlin.
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“It was the middle of the night when I felt him crawl into my bed,” Wagner wrote inUSA Today. “I had been sleeping and didn’t move because I didn’t understand what it meant. I thought he just wanted a place to sleep. But then he started kissing my neck. I pretended to be deep asleep, hoping he would stop. He didn’t. When his hands started to wander, when he started touching me, groping my body, I tried to shift around so that he would think I was waking up and would stop. He didn’t.”Wagner wrote that she started to cry, opened her eyes and pulled Coughlin’s hand away, telling him to stop.“He looked at me for a few seconds, quietly got up and left the room. All of this happened over the period of about five minutes. That is such a small amount of time, but it’s haunted me ever since,” she wrote.Coughlin said on Jan. 7, 2019 — 11 days before his death — thatthe accusations were “unfounded.”
Wagner commented on Gislason’s hiring againon Twitter Tuesday, calling it “so incredibly frustrating and disappointing to see.”
“As an organization that promised to make change surrounding a culture of grooming and abuse, this feels like a careless step backwards, disregarding the truth and experiences of survivors,” she said.
If you or someone you know has been a victim of sexual abuse, text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 to be connected to a certified crisis counselor.
source: people.com
