'Inappropriate behaviour' by coach charged with sexual assault began years ago, former player alleges

A former high school basketball player who played for a Manitoba coach charged with sexual assault, sexual exploitation and luring says she has called Winnipeg police to report what she describes as Madison Biluk's "inappropriate behaviour."

The woman says she was shocked to hear last Friday that 15 charges had been laid against Biluk, and called the police that same day.

"I just let them know, it's a pattern. It's not something that's just a one-time thing," she said in a conversation with CBC News.

CBC is not identifying the woman because she was a minor at the time. She says two of her former teammates told her they would also call police.

Biluk, a now 28-year-old from Winnipeg, has also been charged with sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching, assault and assault with a weapon, among other offences.

Biluk coached with Hockey Manitoba from 2018-23 and is accused of "grooming and gaining the trust" on an underaged hockey player she once coached, police said last week, after they received a tip in October about a "sexually exploitative relationship."

It came to light that month through a social media post by the survivor.

The abuse is alleged to have occurred over two years, including time when Biluk was no longer the teenager's coach. Biluk was in her 20s at the time, according to police.

In addition to coaching hockey, for six years, Biluk coached the Gimli High School's female basketball varsity team, made up of students in grades 10 to 12. 

In 2017, she won the Basketball Manitoba award for AA girls coach of the year.

Looking back on those years, the former player who spoke with CBC says there was a lot of inappropriate behaviour, including sleepovers, invitations to Biluk's hot tub and access to