News Sexual Harassment
Coach who worked for Gymnastics Ontario faces sex assault charges: Ottawa police

A 27-year-old man who worked as a coach for Gymnastics Ontario has been charged with sexual assault of several students by Ottawa police.

Benjamin Cooper, of Toronto, was arrested and is facing charges for offences that took place between 2014 and 2022 involving seven female victims between the ages of 14 and 17 in the Ottawa and Kingston area.

“From 2014 to 2021, he was employed by Gymnastics Ontario working in Ottawa and Kingston,” Ottawa Police said in a press release. “Sexual offences took place in the course of his coaching duties and after hours, and incidents continued into 2022.”

Charges laid include:

• 6 counts of Sexual Assault
• 2 counts of Sexual Interference with a person under 16 yrs of age
• 3 counts of Invitation to Sexual Touching under the age of 16 yrs of age
• 3 counts of Unlawful possession of Child Pornography
• 5 counts of Sexual Exploitation, and
• 1 count of Harassment by repeated communication with person

Police are concerned there may been more victims in the Ottawa and Kingston areas. It is asking victims to contact their local police service for more information.