Nikolaj Sorensen banned for six years for "sexual maltreatment" | Page 2 | Golden Skate

Nikolaj Sorensen banned for six years for "sexual maltreatment"

Sabsi

Final Flight
Joined
Feb 14, 2018
Some more alleged information (mostly via TSL, so take it with a grain of salt):
  • IAM will be complying with the OSIC ruling and Sorensen won't be allowed to train or coach at IAM.
  • Gabriella Papadakis specifically requested to not train on the same ice as Sorensen, leading to a fall-out with Guillaume, who has remained close friends with Sorensen.
  • The evidence accepted by OSIC includes message records, photos and videos, medical records and first hand accounts by witnesses
  • Photos of the party (at which the incident supposedly took place) were available on social media until shortly after the case became public and were then deleted. This made it easy for investigators to identify possible witnesses.
  • Andrew Lavrik was heard as a witness for Nikolaj Sorensen, his testimony was however contradictory and ended up helping the victim
    • Lavrik himself was criminally charged due to criminal sexual contact with a child and endangering the welfare of a child. While suspended by SafeSport, he continued coaching skaters without a USFS liscence
  • Sorensen is now the fourth person with ties to the central Connecticut skating community to be banned for sexual misconduct (Andrew Lavrik was one of those bans, he is not currently banned anymore), two others were investigated by SafeSport for multiple years
Loved to read about Gabby. At least one person, who didn't play business as usual.
 

4everchan

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Country
Martinique
What seems clear is that IAM are a very very shady group...
I wouldn't go that far. The assault happened before Nikolaj was training with IAM. Before he was partnered up with Lolo. Most likely, IAM didn't know. Most likely Lolo also had no clue. When this all came out, I could easily imagine that many of the people close to him had a hard time knowing where to stand... It's only human, just like family, friends and colleagues will remain close to people committing other reprehensible acts. I know a mother who has visited her husband in prison regularly and is planning to get back with him when he is out... and his crime : assaulting their own daughter. It seems easy to judge from the outside but it's not in real life. Even the victim herself has mentioned feeling terrible for Laurence. There are always more than one victim when such reprehensible acts are committed. Marie-France and Patrice have been so close to Laurence for years, even before she was skating with Nikolaj. It is probably very hard for them to process all of this. I am not ready to lynch them and everyone who has ties with Nikolaj. Actually, isn't it what the victim said in her statement, not to bully skaters being around Nikolaj?
 
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IceDancingQueen

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
Not going to lie, I am sad to see this very talented couple effectively end their career like this. I enjoyed seeing them skate.
But Nikolai has obviously been found guilty, and he only has himself to blame for their early retirement and lost competing/coaching opportunities.
Hopefully, this ruling will encourage victims not to be intimidated and report crimes/misconduct earlier, rather than suffer in silence for years. It's sad that it only took Nikolai's announced plans to coach to make the victim file a report. Obviously, she didn't have faith she'd get justice if she spoke up against a well-known and well-liked skater.
I feel sorry for Laurence in this. It's got to be hard to see a loved one you trust, convicted of something you didn't think was possible for them to do. Hopefully she and the victim can heal in time.
Well said. I am also selfishly saddened as I loved watching them skate but as you said Nikolaj only has himself to blame. Him and Lolo seemed like such a lovely couple but there is no way to view him now but with disgust and disappointment. I really feel for Laurence because that’s her career ended (when she was probably the best female ice dancer on the circuit) and who knows what will happen to their relationship. Just like the poor victim, her whole life has been turned upside down.
 

IceDancingQueen

Final Flight
Joined
Dec 7, 2017
What seems clear is that IAM are a very very shady group...
This seems like a very immature response. I get ppl hate on IAM here but to use a horrible incident like this to bash an entire centre full of coaches and staff supporting many different skaters, says more about you than them.

He was being investigated and we don’t know what the situation was behind the scenes. By all accounts Lolo and Nikolaj were good friends with so many teams and couples - if someone close to you, who you think you know, has an allegation against them, you would likely give them the benefit of the doubt while they were being investigated.

It would have been an uneasy and difficult situation for all those who knew him wondering what the truth was. Nikolaj is the one who should have removed himself from competing as he knew the truth.

To say they are shady for something that didn’t even happen at their centre is ridiculous. If they were covering up the abuse then yes, but nowhere has that been implied and they are implementing the ban. If anyone has anything to answer for, it should be Connecticut given they have had multiple incidents like this occur and need to look at how they are actually keeping their athletes safe.
 

Skating91

Medalist
Joined
Sep 16, 2023
I think he should be stripped of all his medals and results from the time the offending occurred. 6 years for someone at the tail end of their career is a light punishment.

So poor of Skate Canada to protect this guy, to give him spots last season at 4CC and World's with this information out there. They really wanted a medal and to potentially earn extra spots absolutely any cost.

If only Skate Canada put as much effort into protecting victims of their system as they do with things like politicking for a team bronze medal.
 

Ziotic

Medalist
Joined
Dec 23, 2016
I think he should be stripped of all his medals and results from the time the offending occurred. 6 years for someone at the tail end of their career is a light punishment.

So poor of Skate Canada to protect this guy, to give him spots last season at 4CC and World's with this information out there. They really wanted a medal and to potentially earn extra spots absolutely any cost.

If only Skate Canada put as much effort into protecting victims of their system as they do with things like politicking for a team bronze medal.
I get that you just have a grudge after the whole doping debacle, but your comment is unhinged.


Skate Canada followed the rules, until an investigation is carried out and evidence investigated you can’t take action.
 

Rebecca Moose

Final Flight
Joined
Oct 6, 2023
Country
United-States
What seems clear is that IAM are a very very shady group...
Yes, IAM needs to drain the swamp.

Their monopoly on ice dance has not only made the sport stale and predictable and homogeneous—but more importantly—dangerous for athletes.

What makes it worse is they pretend to be "athletes first, love and acceptance, etc" when the reality appears to be far displaced from that mission statement. At least the Russians are blatant with their corruption and enabling abuse and don't gaslight us into thinking otherwise.
 

saine

Record Breaker
Joined
Jun 11, 2023
Country
Canada
The ISU made a statement on the decision.

 

jersey1302

Final Flight
Joined
Jan 10, 2016
Country
Canada
I was truly hoping this would not be the outcome. It’s so disappointing in all aspects. It’s heartbreaking for the victim and took a lot of mental courage to do this. You always want these allegations to be found untrue. As a fan of him and the team I was really hoping he was a better person than this. It’s always shocking to find out how stupid someone can be to jeapordize their integrity, harm others and create mental health issues and still claim to be innocent knowing you did something wrong. He’s obviously got no one to blame but himself
 

mikeko666

Final Flight
Joined
Apr 27, 2011
I wouldn't go that far. The assault happened before Nikolaj was training with IAM. Before he was partnered up with Lolo. Most likely, IAM didn't know. Most likely Lolo also had no clue. When this all came out, I could easily imagine that many of the people close to him had a hard time knowing where to stand... It's only human, just like family, friends and colleagues will remain close to people committing other reprehensible acts. I know a mother who has visited her husband in prison regularly and is planning to get back with him when he is out... and his crime : assaulting their own daughter. It seems easy to judge from the outside but it's not in real life. Even the victim herself has mentioned feeling terrible for Laurence. There are always more than one victim when such reprehensible acts are committed. Marie-France and Patrice have been so close to Laurence for years, even before she was skating with Nikolaj. It is probably very hard for them to process all of this. I am not ready to lynch them and everyone who has ties with Nikolaj. Actually, isn't it what the victim said in her statement, not to bully skaters being around Nikolaj?
The assault happened on April 21, 2012, according to the victim. Sorensen and then his partner Katelyn Good moved to Montreal to train with Dubreuil and Lauzon in 2010 according to Good's wikipedia.
 

4everchan

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Country
Martinique
The assault happened on April 21, 2012, according to the victim. Sorensen and then his partner Katelyn Good moved to Montreal to train with Dubreuil and Lauzon in 2010 according to Good's wikipedia.
The information we have is that the assault happened while he was training in Connecticut. The IAM we know of did not exist back then. IAM was founded in 2014. I maintain that though as fans we don't know much, that it is unfair to throw dirt at IAM for this incident. The same wiki link you have provided says that Good retired in 2011. I don't think it's a good idea to start playing detectives using wikipedia as evidence honestly... So I will leave it at there.
 
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Skating91

Medalist
Joined
Sep 16, 2023
Is the use of the word maltreatment a way to lessen the severity of what happened, so as to take scrutiny off Skate Canada. If the testimony I read is correct, then this was an extremely violent and sadistic crime he should be imprisoned for. Sexual maltreatment that makes it sound like he may have made her feel awkward in a work environment, maybe a a sexually suggestive comment, maybe put his arm around her in a way that made her uncomfortable, not a violent and sadistic crime.
 

4everchan

Record Breaker
Joined
Mar 7, 2015
Country
Martinique
Is the use of the word maltreatment a way to lessen the severity of what happened, so as to take scrutiny off Skate Canada. If the testimony I read is correct, then this was an extremely violent and sadistic crime he should be imprisoned for. Sexual maltreatment that makes it sound like he may have made her feel awkward in a work environment, maybe a a sexually suggestive comment, maybe put his arm around her in a way that made her uncomfortable, not a violent and sadistic crime.
The term sexual maltreatment is the umbrella term used by the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner. It is not a Skate Canada term: it applies to all sports in Canada.
 

pesto

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 30, 2016
We don't know what Sorensen's coaches knew, or even what his colleagues believed after the initial allegation. Abusers can be very persuasive, and it's hard to believe ill of a friend. There was probably a spectrum of opinions, and unless others go public, we can't really judge.

The only one to have been deemed guilty of an offence is Sorensen. I'd imagine there will be internal follow-up, but I don't really want to sling mud at others.

It's horrible though, when someone whose performances have moved you, turns out to be a wrongun. You can never watch them back the same way again.
 
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