A coach, revealed to be a child sex offender after his presence at the Paris Olympics, has a history of abusing a teenage girl during her training sessions.
Brett Sutton, a 65-year-old Australian, coached Switzerland’s Julie Derron to a silver medal in the triathlon, finishing ahead of Team GB’s Beth Potter on Wednesday.
Accredited by China, he attended the event and even gave an interview to Swiss television near the finish line on Pont Alexandre III.
In 1999, Sutton admitted guilt to five counts of sexual abuse involving a 13-year-old Australian swimmer whom he coached in the late 1980s.
He received a two-year prison sentence, which was suspended for three years.
Judge Robert Hall remarked that Sutton had acted in a ‘gross and disgraceful way’ and ‘abused his position to an inexcusable extent’, as reported by The Sunday Times.
During Sutton’s 1999 court case, numerous allegations were presented, detailing events in which he coerced a girl into performing oral sex.
The victim found the strength to report the abuse to the authorities once she became an adult and was married.
Australian coach Brett Sutton, 65, has been outed as the second known child sex offender at the Olympics. He pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual abuse of a 13-year-old girl
The woman collaborated with law enforcement and discreetly recorded a phone call with Sutton, during which he made multiple admissions regarding the sexual abuse.
Sutton was found guilty after pleading guilty to five charges and chose not to testify in court.
His decision to forgo giving evidence meant that the victim was spared from cross-examination.
However, this allowed Sutton’s attorney to present claims during the mitigation plea that could not be contested in court, as noted by The Observer in 2002.
In an interview with The Observer, Sutton claimed that he no longer coached children under the age of 16, stating, ‘it’s the age of consent’.
‘My lawyer told me that way, no one can label me as a pedophile,’ Sutton asserted.
Judge Hall informed Sutton, who was the national triathlon coach preparing several athletes for the Sydney Games, that they would ‘suffer disadvantage from your absence from the scene’.
Consequently, Sutton faced bans from numerous coaching organizations, with both the International Triathlon Union and Triathlon Australia imposing a three-year suspension.
The Australian National Olympic Committee informed The Australian that Sutton was ‘banned for life from swimming in Australia due to his sexual offenses conviction.’
Since 2021, Sutton has also faced a lifetime ban from USA Triathlon.
Following his conviction, Les McDonald, president of the International Triathlon Union, remarked that athletes coached by Sutton should not be eligible to compete internationally.
Despite his conviction, Sutton has been permitted to rebuild his coaching career.
After his marriage failed post-conviction, Sutton relocated to Switzerland and has managed a family-operated coaching business in the St Moritz ski resort for over two decades.
Sutton was given accreditation by China and trained Derron (centre) who won second place
On his website, Sutton boasts about having shaped the careers of ‘many of the sport’s stars over the past 35 years’ and charges a monthly fee of $999 for his services.
A spokesperson for Sutton confirmed his accreditation as a coach for China during the Paris Olympics.
He further explained that Sutton had attended the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, the 2016 Rio Olympics, and the 2012 London Olympics as an accredited member of the Swiss team.
A representative from the Swiss national Olympic committee informed The Australian that athletes are allowed to select their own coaches for the Games.
‘Brett Sutton does not work for Swiss Olympic, nor does he hold any position within our organization in Paris,’ he clarified.
‘Swiss athletes determine who they collaborate with as personal coaches.’
Sutton has since departed the Paris Olympics following the completion of his athletes’ competitions.
