Recent abuse cases make Canadian gymnasts wonder if voices are being heard

Abby Spadafora has had trouble sleeping since a gymnastics coach in Lethbridge, Alta., was charged with sexually assaulting a seven-year-old girl last week.

Spadafora and other Canadian gymnasts say they're devastated about the case that is only too familiar. And they wonder if it could have been prevented.

Gymnasts for Change, a group that has grown to over 500 current and retired gymnasts, has been calling on Sport Canada for an independent investigation into their sport for months. And while they applaud the swift measures taken against Hockey Canada around an alleged sexual assault of a woman in 2018 by members of its junior men's team, they wonder why no one is hearing their own cries for change.

Jamie Ellacott, 33, was charged July 12 with sexual assault and sexual interference following an investigation by the Lethbridge Police Service violent crimes unit, which determined a seven-year-old girl was assaulted during training in May and June at the Lethbridge Gymnastics Academy.

"It kept me up at night when the story broke, because all I could think is if we had been listened to, this could have been prevented," Spadafora said.

WATCH | Canadian gymnasts call for change:

The 38-year-old Spadafora detailed in a public letter in May her own allegations of years of sexual, emotional and physical abuse in the 1990s by coaches Dave and Elizabeth Brubaker.

Amelia Cline filed a class-action lawsuit in May against Gymnastics Canada and six provincial member organizations over alleged abuse. The class has over 100 members.

"I have certain complicated feelings about [the Hockey Canada case]," Cline said. "Because on the one hand, of course, it should be getting attention. It's horrible. But in the face of the inaction and