Warning: This story contains a description of sexual assault. A former provincial championship wrestler who came forward claiming her coach sexually assaulted her at a party when she was a teenager is disappointed with what she describes as the "ridiculous" Canadian complaints process, saying it left her afraid for the safety of other young athletes.
Madison Payette, now 26, learned last month that her old coach, Aso Palani, had been suspended after a disciplinary panel found, on a balance of probabilities, that he had assaulted her when she was 17.
The coach was suspended for three years, half of which is already over — meaning he will be free to return to work with youth in February 2025. "It's ridiculous," said Payette, speaking in an exclusive interview with CBC. "You're going to say that it did happen, on the balance of probability … but you're only going to give him three years?
And you're willingly going to let him go and continue to work with minors? "It's absolutely shocking." Palani, 36, "vehemently" denied the allegation of sexual assault during the hearing.