Figure skater sues former Detroit coach over molestation allegations
Los Angeles — A former member of the U.S. national figure skating team said in a lawsuit Friday that he was sexually molested as a teenage boy by a coach who the sport’s governing body had ignored complaints about.
Adam Schmidt sued coach Richard Callaghan and U.S. Figure Skating in San Diego County Superior Court. He is seeking unspecified damages for several counts including negligence, sexual harassment against both and assault and sexual battery that he said began in 1999 when he was 14.
Schmidt, once known as Adam Baadani, quit a promising skating career because of the physical and emotional toll from the abuse, his lawyer said.
“Our client is an extremely talented young athlete who dreamed of nothing more than to stand on an Olympic podium and hear our national anthem,” attorney John Manly said. “The U.S. Figure Skating Association and the ice rinks where Callaghan worked ignored complaints against him for years. If they had done their legal duty in 1999 and reported Callaghan to the police, our client and other children could have been protected from this monster.”
Callaghan, who trained Olympic champion Tara Lipinski, was suspended last year by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the U.S. Olympic Committee’s misconduct watchdog, after another skater said he had been abused 20 years ago.
Read more: https://www.detroitnews.com/story/news/local/detroit-city/2019/08/10/former-skater-coach-sued-detroit-schmidt-callahan/39937603/
