A North Vancouver, B.C., hockey trainer and coach accused of numerous sex offences involving a young player going back to the early 1990s denies the charges against him.
"I'm totally innocent and this is totally unfounded. I feel sorry for the people who fabricated this," Dusan Benicky told CTV News in a phone interview Wednesday.
Benicky, 56, who claims to have worked with NHL greats Pavel Bure, Markus Naslund and Trevor Linden, was charged with seven counts this week, including sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual assault.
The alleged sexual misconduct involved a minor hockey player and took place over a four-year period from 1991 to 1995, beginning when the child was 10, RCMP officials said Wednesday.
Cpl. Marlene Morton said the alleged assaults took place at various locations, including hockey arenas and at the suspect's residence.
RCMP officials are asking other victims or persons with information on the case to contact Sgt. Jeanette Theisen of the North Vancouver Sex Crimes Unit.
"The sad thing with children who have been victimized when they're young is they feel intense shame, and it often takes them years to disclose," Morton said.
"We applaud our victim for having the strength to come forward."
Benicky said he knows the individual who levelled the accusations against him and that he feels sorry for that person.
Asked what his response would be if other allegations came forward, Benicky said, "there's nobody in this world [who] can come forward with any allegations against me."
"I appreciate you giving the opportunity to tell public the truth. That's it."
Robert Bettauer told CTV News that he has known Benicky for 25 years as a friend and colleague.
"I find today incredibly difficult. In fact, I don't believe it," Bettauer said. "Dusan has a lot of friends and a lot of professional colleagues who think very highly of him and I'm one of them."
Meanwhile, the Canucks denied Wednesday that Benicky was ever associated with them, despite claims to the contrary on Benicky's online resume.
Benicky claims that from 1985 to 1996, he was in charge of physiological profiling and conditioning for the Vancouver Canucks.
The online resume also says Benicky worked with University of British Columbia athletes from 1983 to 1996, along with Team Slovakia at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and the Czech National Team at the 1998 Nagano Olympics.
He is listed as the founder and president of the Hockey Performance Centre in North Vancouver, a state-of-the-art training facility for all levels of players.
The RCMP's investigation began in May after the alleged victim, who cannot be named, came forward.
Benicky has been cooperative with police, Morton said.
With files from The Canadian Press
