Once again, rape is shaking up the world of gymnastics.
In Brazil, a former coach of the national team was sentenced to 109 years in prison for raping four gymnasts, one of whom was a minor at the time.
Fernando de Carvalho Lopez, who previously coached the Brazilian gymnastics team, has been accused of raping four players. One of the gymnasts is said to have been 13 when the rape occurred, reports Globo Esporte, which witnessed the trial held behind closed doors.
Now the verdict came. A court in São Bernardo do Campo, near São Paulo, sentenced him to 109 years and eight months in prison.
Fernando de Carvalho Lopez denied the charges and still has the option of appealing the verdict. Nor does he have to serve his prison sentence until after any appeal process is completed.
The coach took care of the young gymnasts for 20 years, but was left out of his stint with the national team ahead of the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro after one of the young gymnast’s parents filed a complaint. In April 2019, De Carvalho Lopes received a life ban from all activities related to gymnastics.
Not the first rape scandal
In addition to the rape cases, nearly 40 practitioners accused the former coach of being mentally, physically or sexually assaulted by him.
This isn’t the first time rape has rocked gymnastics. In 2018, former US national team doctor Larry Nassar was sentenced to life in prison for abusing several hundred gymnasts, most of them underage.
Also in Great Britain, Greece, Australia and New Zealand, gymnasts testified about the abuse of coaches.