French Sexual Abuse Scandal: Morgan Cipres and Vanessa James

French Olympic pairs figure skater Morgan Cipres is the subject of a U.S. SafeSport sexual abuse investigation after a 13-year-old girl said he sent lewd photos to her over Instagram, per Christine Brennan of USA Today.

The girl and Cipres both trained at AdventHealth Center Ice rink in Wesley Chapel, Florida. Cipres was 26 years old at the time the girl said he sent the photos.



The girl and her parents said after she told Cipres' coaches, John Zimmerman and Silvia Fontana, about the photos, they shamed and threatened her to dissuade reporting the allegations to U.S. SafeSport or other authorities.

The girl and her parents also said another coach at AdventHealth Center Ice, Vinny Dispenza, was involved.



Brennan provided further details:

"On Dec. 3, 2017, Cipres allegedly direct messaged two photos of his penis on Instagram to the girl, who skated at the same rink as Cipres in Wesley Chapel, Fla. USA Today Sports has reviewed those messages, which were sent from what appears to be Cipres’ verified account.

"The girl and her parents said a fourth adult also was involved in the alleged incident. Vinny Dispenza, another coach at the AdventHealth Center Ice rink, allegedly told the girl and another underage girl, whose family could not be reached for comment, to message Cipres asking him to send the photos to the girls in exchange for the promise of a pizza from Dispenza."

Brennan further outlined the girl and her parents' statements regarding Zimmerman and Fontana, who were coaching Cipres in the lead-in to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

"The girl and her parents said that instead of going to police or SafeSport, which opened in March 2017 to investigate sexual abuse in Olympic sports, Zimmerman and Fontana implored them to stay quiet because Cipres and his pairs partner Vanessa James were in the final stages of their preparation for the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea, where they finished fifth.

"The girl and her parents allege Zimmerman and Fontana intimidated the girl for several weeks, telling her that she was at fault for receiving the pictures because she was a 'pretty girl and men have their needs,' that no one would believe her and that she would be shamed on social media, particularly in France, where Cipres is popular."



USA Today also contacted Cipres by phone, and the 28-year-old responded: "I cannot talk with you about anything about that. I mean, I have nothing to say about this allegation. I have nothing, nothing, nothing to say about anything about that so I’m sorry, I cannot talk to you."

Zimmermann and Fontana, who are married, issued a joint statement to USA Today:

“We are completely shocked by the recent allegations made in this article. We were not contacted by SafeSport and there are currently no claims against us. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of safety and professionalism. We deny the allegations and look forward to clearing up this matter which we take very seriously.”

A coach at her rink told her to ask a 26-year-old Olympic skater to send her pictures of his penis, she alleges. In return, he offered the then-13-year-old and another underage friend pizza.

French pairs skater Morgan Cipres sent two photos by direct message on Instagram, the girl and her parents allege. When the family told coaches for the girl and Cipres what happened, they allegethe girl was pressured, even threatened, to keep quiet.

These are the accusations in an investigative story this week written by veteran sports columnist Christine Brennan and edited by Peter Barzilai. It started with a tip she got Aug. 10, soon after she published a story on Ashley Wagner, an Olympic skater who trusted Brennan with her story of sexual assault.





It took months for Brennan to report out all the details. She developed a relationship with the parents, who ultimately trusted her with two videos they took of a direct Instagram message. It appeared to come from Cipres' verified account.

She got a copy of the complaint sent to SafeSport, which first opened in March 2017 to investigate sexual abuse in Olympic sports. She confirmed the body is investigating.





Brennan obtained an email the girl's tutor sent to her therapist and parents. The tutor had become aware of the pressure and was worried for the teen over comments made by the coaches, John Zimmerman, a 2002 Olympian and member of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame, Silvia Fontana, a 2002 and 2006 Olympian representing Italy, and Vinny Dispenza.

“Please ask her to share with you the many statements that have been made to her over the past few weeks (mostly by John) in an attempt to manipulate or scare her into keeping quiet,” the tutor wrote of the young skater. “She has been told that telling will place a target on her back with French fans, that she is the type of girl who does this (collect pics), that she has been asking for it by her clothing choices, that her dad is an attorney and imagine what he will do if he finds out, that she will destroy his career and that of his partner, and much more.”

Brennan confirmed the email with the therapist, who says: “I did what I was bound to do ethically. I contacted the parents. I contacted the authorities. I wanted to make sure the child was safe."

When asked Monday if he sent the photos of himself to the girl, Cipres replied: “I cannot talk with you about anything about that. I mean, I have nothing to say about this allegation. I have nothing, nothing, nothing to say about anything about that so I’m sorry, I cannot talk to you.”



And the three coaches sent a joint statement, after the story published (Brennan had asked for comment beforehand): “We are completely shocked by the recent allegations made in this article. We were not contacted by SafeSport and there are currently no claims against us. We hold ourselves to the highest standards of safety and professionalism. We deny the allegations and look forward to clearing up this matter which we take very seriously.”

These are allegations. The investigation is ongoing.
But Olympic sports have a troubling pattern when it comes to young athletes alleging abuse or misconduct and adults denying it.

It happened in USA Gymnastics, where the Indianapolis Star uncovered horrific abuse by the team doctor and a cover-up by the sport's executives. It happened in taekwondo, where SafeSport banned brothers Jean and Steven Lopez for sexual misconduct, punishments that were lifted when witnesses declined to appear in the appeal hearing. And it happened to Wagner, who came to Brennan with her story in August of being assaulted by an adult skater when she had just turned 17.

The common thread in all of these stories: They would never have come to light without professional journalists, like Brennan, taking the care and time to investigate.

"I have no agenda while gathering facts," Brennan says. "I'm a blank slate. You have to find out what happened. Get as much information as you can to corroborate. Every syllable has to be checked and rechecked."

Brennan has covered every Olympics since 1984 and figure skating at the Olympics since 1988. She has written three books on the sport, including the national best-seller Inside Edge, published in 1996 after the Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan saga.

"I believe things are changing due to this reporting," she says, "but slowly. Is any sport doing enough? No. Is our world doing enough? No. There are still way too many people protecting the brand, whatever the brand may be, rather than protecting our children."