Olympic skater Ashley Wagner says she was sexually assaulted by pairs skater John Coughlin following a party at a national team figure skating camp in 2008.
Coughlin, a two-time U.S. pairs champion, was found dead in his father’s Kansas City, Mo., home on Jan. 18 afterat age 33. His death came one day after he received a suspension from SafeSport. According to USA Today, SafeSport had been investigating three sexual assault allegations against Coughlin prior to his death.
Wagner is the second high-profile figure skater to accuse Coughlin of sexual assault. Bridget Namiotka posted on Facebook in May that Coughlin sexually abused her for two years. “I’m known to speak my mind,” she said. “I’m a strong woman. I’m an opinionated woman. I think it’s important for people to see that things like this can happen to anybody. I’m tough as nails but something this horrifying still happened to me. It’s not enough for me to be a strong woman to make things like this not happen.“If I’m going to be putting a problem out there into the universe, I want to be able to put a problem out there but also do something about it.
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