MONTREAL: Former Canadian gymnastics coach Michel Arsenault was arrested on Wednesday and will face seven charges of sexual assault and assault on six young athletes, police said.
Arsenault, 56, was arrested at his home in Edmonton, Alberta and flown to Quebec province where the alleged assaults took place in the 1980s and early 1990s, said Quebec provincial police spokesman Claude Denis.
Authorities launched an investigation in January after several former gymnasts told public broadcaster they had been sexually assaulted by their coach.
Gymnastics Canada has already suspended the former coach, who was a trainer for the Canadian Olympic team at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.
He is scheduled to appear in court on May 24 where he is to be formally charged with three counts of sexual assault and four counts of assault.