Ex-ski coach Bertrand Charest’s victims win legal fight to have their names made public

Four of the women sexually assaulted by ex-national ski coach Bertrand Charest when they were his teenage students have been granted the right to have their names made public.

Neither the Crown nor Charest’s lawyer objected to the lifting of a publication ban on the identities of Genevieve Simard, Gail Kelly, Amelie Frederique-Gagnon and Anna Prchal.

READ MORE: Former national ski coach Bertrand Charest denied bail

Their lawyer, Julie Girard, says a judge agreed to their request today.

The four will attend a news conference in Montreal on Monday.

Charest was found guilty in June 2017 of 37 of the 57 sex-related charges he was facing and he was eventually given a 12-year prison term.

READ MORE: Ex-ski coach Bertrand Charest sentenced to 12 years for sex-related crimes

The convictions involved nine of the 12 women who’d accused Charest of crimes dating back more than 20 years. All but one of the 12 were under the age of 18 at the time, with the youngest being 12 years old.

Charest was denied bail last December pending an appeal of his conviction.

His lawyer is also appealing the 12-year sentence.

READ MORE: Alpine Canada apologizes to victims of former national ski coach Bertand Charest

As of last December, Charest had seven years and 10 months left to serve because of his time in detention since his arrest in 2015.

The trial judge called Charest a sexual predator last June and had more harsh words last December when he said Charest still did not grasp the severity or the consequences of his crimes.

Quebec court Judge Sylvain Lépine said the victims were still suffering from what he called “serious health consequences” as a result of the abuse that took place between 1991 and 1998.