Gilles Beyer

Gilles Beyer is a French former competitive figure skater and coach. He is the 1978 French national champion[1] and competed at six ISU Championships. He has been accused of sexually abusing students when they were minors.

Gilles Beyer
Personal information
Country representedFrance
ResidenceParis, France
Skating clubFrançais Volants
Retiredc. 1980

Career

Beyer competed at three European Championships and three World Championships. In the 1977–78 season, he won the French national title and finished within the top ten at the 1978 European Championships in Strasbourg.

After retiring from competition, Beyer focused on coaching. His students included:

He is the former general manager of the figure skating division of Français Volants in Paris.[5][6] In January 2020, Français Volants announced Beyer's immediate removal from any role at the club.[7]

From 2014 to 2018, Beyer was a member of the executive bureau at the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG).[8]

Allegations of sexual abuse of minors

Figure skating coach Didier Lucine wrote a letter in February 2000 to the French Federation of Ice Sports (FFSG), expressing concerns about Beyer's behaviour around young students.[9] In the early 2000s, Beyer was the subject of two investigations, one in Créteil and the second at the French ministry of sports.[10] The latter resulted in Beyer's removal from his position as a technical adviser on 31 March 2001.[10] Sarah Abitbol said that she spoke about Beyer with Jean-François Lamour when he was France's sports minister (2002–04); in a 2020 interview, Lamour said that he did not recall the conversation.[10]

In January 2020, two former students accused Beyer of sexually abusing them when they were minors.[11][12] Hélène Godard said that he had sex with her when she was 13 and 14 years old.[13] Abitbol recounted her experiences in her book Un si long silence, stating that he had raped her multiple times beginning when she was 15.[4][14] Beyer admitted "intimate relations" with Abitbol and stated: "Although my memories of the precise circumstances differ from hers, I understand that, given my functions and her age at the time, these relations were in any case inappropriate."[7]

In January 2021, Beyer was charged with sexual assault by a person in authority and sexual harassment by a person in authority, relating to complaints filed by six former students. The cases of Godard, Abitbol, and a number of other past students could not be prosecuted due to statutes of limitations.[15]

Personal life

Beyer's wife, Katia Krier, is a French figure skating coach and the deputy national technical director.[9]

Competitive highlights
International
Event 73–74 74–75 75–76 76–77 77–78 78–79 79–80
World Champ.22nd19th15th
European Champ.16th10th13th
National
French Champ.3rd2nd2nd3rd1st3rd

References
  1. "TITRES FRANCAIS MESSIEURS / DAMES / COUPLES" [French men's, ladies', and pairs' champions] (in French). Français Volants. Archived from the original on 20 June 2008.CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. "Laetitia HUBERT". International Skating Union.
  3. "Laurent TOBEL". International Skating Union. Archived from the original on 7 May 2016. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
  4. "Patinage artistique : l'ancienne championne Sarah Abitbol affirme avoir été violée par son ancien entraîneur" [Figure skating: Former champion Sarah Abitbol states that she was raped by her former coach]. L'Equipe (in French). 29 January 2020.
  5. "Comité Sportif" [Sport committee] (in French). Français Volants. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016.
  6. Germain, Quentin (27 September 2013). "Les Français Volants s'offrent au public yonnais" [Français Volants to appear before the public]. ouest-france.fr (in French).
  7. "Viols dans le patinage : l'ex-entraîneur de Sarah Abitbol reconnaît des relations « intimes inappropriées » et présente ses « excuses »" [Rape in skating: The ex-coach of Sarah Abitbol admits "inappropriate intimate" relations] (in French). L'Obs. 31 January 2020.
  8. "Bureau Exécutif" [Executive bureau] (in French). Fédération Française des Sports de Glace. Archived from the original on 11 October 2016.
  9. Baheux, Romain (31 January 2020). "Violences sexuelles dans le patinage : «J'ai lancé l'alerte et ils me le font payer», affirme Didier Lucine" [Sexual violence in skating: I launched an alert and they're making me pay for it, says Didier Lucine]. Le Parisien (in French).
  10. "Violences sexuelles dans le sport: d'anciennes patineuses de haut niveau accusent leurs entraîneurs" [Sexual violence in sport: former high-level skaters accuse their coaches]. Agence France-Presse (in French). L'Obs. 29 January 2020.
  11. "French ice skating coaches face multiple rape claims". Agence France-Presse. france24.com. 29 January 2020.
  12. Anizon, Emmanuelle (29 January 2020). "ENQUÊTE. Patinage artistique : le club des prédateurs sexuels" [Investigation. Figure skating: The club of sexual predators]. L'Obs (in French).
  13. Collin, Jean-Christophe; Fleurot, Grégoire (28 January 2020). "La fin de l'omerta sur les violences sexuelles : la jeunesse volée des patineuses" [The end of the omerta surrounding sexual violence: The stolen youth of skaters]. L'Equipe (in French).
  14. "L'ex-patineuse Sarah Abitbol accuse un coach de l'avoir violée quand elle avait 15 ans" [Former skater Sarah Abitbol accuses a coach of raping her when she was 15 years old] (in French). La Chaîne Info. 29 January 2020.
  15. "Former French skating champion Abitbol 'relieved' as ex-coach Beyer charged with sex assault". France 24. 9 January 2021.
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