The Former Coach Of The Brazil Gymnastics Team Was Sentenced To 109 Years Because It Was Proven That He Raped 4 Athletes, One Of Whom Was Underage.

Illustration of rape. (Photo: Pexels/RODNAE Productions)

JAKARTA - The Sao City Court, Bernardo do Campo, has imposed a severe sentence on one of the former coaches of the Brazilian gymnastics national team.

The perpetrator, Fernando de Carvalho Lopes, was found guilty of raping four of his athletes.

For his crimes, the court sentenced Carvalho Lopes to more than a century in prison, namely 109 years and eight months. according to what was reported on the Globo Esporte page.

Globo Esporte said that one of the victims was a minor. However, it did not reveal the age of the other three gymnasts.

Carvalho Lopes can still appeal this verdict and insist not guilty. He will not be in prison until the appeal process ends.

The former coach coach coached young gymnasts for 20 years before being removed from the national team staff in 2016.

He was sacked a month before the 2016 Rio Olympics after the athletes' parents sued him.

In April 2019, he was barred for life from gymnastics-related activities.

Four years ago, 40 athletes claimed to have been victims of psychological, physical or sexual abuse from Carvalho Lopes. They revealed it to Globo TV channels.

Some of them took part in the legal process as witnesses to events allegedly occurred between 1999 and 2016, according to AFP via Antara.