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Coach doesn't deny sex

Bertrand Charest doesn't deny having had sex with some of his teenage ski students but disagrees with his portrayal by the Crown and his alleged victims, one of his lawyers said Wednesday.

"There were sexual relationships between Mr. Charest and certain of the (alleged) victims," Antonio Cabral said outside the courtroom after calling his third and final witness at the former ski coach's sex assault trial.

"What Mr. Charest wasn't ready to admit was that this was a generalized behaviour and that it was generalized with 12 (alleged) victims as is reported in the charges."

Charest, now 51, is on trial on 57 charges, including sexual assault and breach of trust, in connection with 12 alleged victims between the ages of 12 and 19 during the 1990s.

They claim Charest abused them when he was their coach, before and during his stint with Alpine Canada's women's development team between 1996 and '98.

Several of the alleged victims testified they had sexual relationships with Charest, with many saying he was controlling and manipulative toward the athletes whose careers he managed.

Some of them said they felt they were in love with Charest at the time but eventually came to believe they had been manipulated.

On Wednesday, Cabral said his client disagreed with the way he was portrayed by the alleged victims, especially when it came to their level of consent.

Cabral said Charest believes the sex he had with the young skiers was consensual.



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