Sexual assault charges against 3 Montreal high school basketball coaches shake sports community

The arrests Wednesday of three basketball coaches fromSaint-Laurent high school in Montreal's Saint-Laurent boroughhave sent shock wavesrippling through Montreal'sstudent sports network, as the three defendants are celebrated coaches of competitive teams.

Daniel Lacasse, 43, Charles-Xavier Boislard, 43, and Robert Luu, 31, appeared at the Montreal courthouse Thursday to face a total of eight charges, including sexual exploitation, sexual assault, sexual interference and invitation to sexual touching.

The charges involve two victims whoare former players on Saint-Laurent High School women's basketball team.

Gustave Roel, executive directorof the Rseau du sport tudiant du Qubec, says news of the arrests was "like dropping a bomb" in the student sports community because of the men's professional accomplishments.

Lacasse, in particular, brought several basketball players to compete in American leagues.

"Whether the person is well-known or not, it's one situation too many, and it's unacceptable," said Roel. "We don't want it to happen again."

Roel remindedstudents, parentsand staff of the existence of his network's online platformJe porte plainte, where people can go tofile complaints about inappropriate behaviour in student sports.

Daniel Grimard, executive director of Basketball Qubec, saidit's important for sports associations to better educateparents, students and clubs on identifying signs of abuse.

"We don't want kids to be exposed to that," he said.

Defendant released on bail

Boislard, who isalleged to have committed the assaults between September 2008 and April 2010, was released on bail Thursday under several conditions, including refraining from communicating with theother defendants. Boislard is not allowed to go to public spaces where children under the age of 16 may be present. He cannot contact staff of Saint-Laurent High School nor visit the school, and he isn't allowed to accept work that would put him in contact with minors.

Boislard is expected back in court on March 24 at 9 a.m.

Lacasse faces a single charge of sexual exploitation, alleged to have occurred between September 2010 and April 2012. Luu faces three charges for offences alleged to have occurred between September 2014 and December 2017.

The bail hearings for Lacasse and Luu have been postponed untilFriday.

In a news releaseThursday, the Montreal police service (SPVM)urged other potential victims to contact the SPVM's sexual assault unit.

"Since many underage girls have played on the sports teams to which the three men are linked over the years, investigators have reason to believe that othergirls could have been victims of similar acts, from as far back as2005 to the present day,'' police said.

The Marguerite Bourgeoys school board, which administers the high school, said the three men donot have criminal records. In a statement, the board said all three men have been suspended, andschool authorities are co-operating with police.

"This situation has shaken us all, and we take it very seriously,'' said Dominic Bertrand, the board's director general.

"We will meet with parents and staff members to accompany, support them and refer them to the right resources, if necessary. A team of interveners is also available to support students.''