A former ski coach for Team Canada was to face 47 charges of sexually assaulting minors at St. Jerome court Friday morning, but the case was put off until Monday for a bail hearing.
Bertrand Charest, the ex-coach for the national junior ski team, was charged Wednesday and arrested at the beginning of March. He was released on a promise to appear in court Wednesday morning.
Police say the first victim came forward several weeks ago. Since the first charges were laid against Charest, eight more victims came forward and police charged Charest with an additional 45 counts of sexual assault.
He was re-arrested and remains in custody in St. Jerome until his next court appearance.
Eric Cadotte of Mont Tremblant police said all the victims were assaulted at least once in Mont Tremblant and the other assaults took place on trips to competitions in the U.S., France, Austria, and New Zealand. The assaults span from 1990 to 1998.
His alleged victims, all female, were between 12 and 19 years old at the time.
Alpine Canada (ACA) confirmed on Friday that Charest was hired as a coach for the women's development team in 1996. He was let go in 1998 when the ACA was "advised by a source that Mr. Charest may have engaged in inappropriate contact with a female member of the team."
The ACA said they began an investigation into the complaint and immediately suspended Charest as a coach. Charest resigned a few days later.
Alpine Canada also said it was in contact with the RCMP about the case, but were not told the results of its investigation.
