Richard Callaghan, former coach for Tara Lipinski, suspended amid past sexual abuse allegations
U.S. Figure Skating has suspended former Olympic coach Richard Callaghan pending a new investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct made against him almost 20 years ago.
Callaghan, coach to Olympic champion Tara Lipinski and six-time U.S. champion Todd Eldredge, was accused of sexual misconduct in April 1999 by Craig Maurizi, one of his former students.
Maurizi told The New York Times?in 1999 that Callaghan had engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with him beginning when he was 15 years old. The alleged misconduct had begun nearly 20 years earlier. The Times article cited two other unnamed students of Callaghan's who also claimed to have been molested by the coach.
Callaghan, 72, denied the charges at the time, telling the Times he had never had sex with Maurizi and dismissing any suggestion that he had engaged in any improper behavior.
On Friday, he told ABC News, "That's 19 or 20 years ago. I have nothing to say."
Maurizi filed a grievance against Callaghan with the United States Figure Skating Association after making the allegations. The grievance was dismissed in June 1999, with the group saying Maurizi had not filed the complaint within the prescribed 60 days.
Callaghan had announced in March 1999 that he would retire at the end of the season. He did not retire but moved from the prestigious Detroit Skating Club, which had produced multiple champions, to another rink in the Detroit area. He later moved to Florida and continued to coach.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which oversees allegations of sexual abuse in sports, announced on its website that the group had suspended Callaghan. The U.S. Figure Skating Association followed suit, as mandated in its bylaws.
"At this time, I'm not going to discuss whether I have or have not filed a new claim through SafeSport,"?Maurizi told ABC News. "I'm in the process of securing legal representation on my behalf."
Callaghan told ABC News that he had not been notified of his suspension.
"I have not been given any information about this, so I really can't make a comment," Callaghan said. "No one's notified me. I just saw a note on a website somewhere."
