A well-known Quebec riding coach is accused of sexually assaulting at least two young women, one of them a minor.
After the unveiling of recent sex scandals involving trainers from various sporting backgrounds, it is now the turn of the riding community to be splashed.
Francis Berger, a trainer from Mont-Saint-Hilaire (on the South Shore of Montreal) recognized across North America, was formally charged on Monday with a host of sexual charges against two young women, whom we cannot identify due to a court order.
According to the court documents we have consulted, the alleged facts occurred between 2004 and 2022.
The lawsuit accuses Francis Berger of having assaulted and sexually exploited a minor victim.
Also according to these documents, the 54-year-old man also sexually assaulted a young adult.
Photos taken from the South Shore Farm Facebook page
Sanctioned in the spring
Our Bureau of Investigation also learned that Equestrian Canada, the sports federation in the field of equestrian sport in Canada, had already sanctioned him earlier in the spring following a complaint. The organization had banned him from exercising coaching activities until the conclusion of an internal investigation.
Francis Berger has been in the horse riding business for over 20 years. He has trained many riders, including Bianca Lafontaine, who won the bronze medal at an important North American competition ten years ago, the “North American Junior Rider Championship”.
Among his other riders, he also had under his wing the Bouchervilloise Coraline Thibault who has already been titled as a junior athlete who has distinguished herself on the Quebec scene in classical riding and who has also won the title of champion in the vault. junior hurdles.
Free like air
After appearing Monday at the Sainte-Hyacinthe courthouse, Francis Berger was released, although the police have reason to believe that he may have had other victims.
Francis Berger also has the right to leave the country, even if according to our information, some of the alleged acts occurred in the United States.
Two sources who asked us to preserve their anonymity also said that he left for Florida on Tuesday.
Francis Berger is also a shareholder and sole director of the South Shore Farm stable, which he uses in particular for the training of his men and women riders at Mont Saint-Hilaire.
He is also the founder and president of EQUSS Intégral, a company that sells products and equipment in the horse riding industry.
Last February, three basketball coaches from Saint-Laurent school in Montreal were charged with sex crimes. Also, Hockey Canada was splashed in 2022 with cases of alleged sexual assault.