VANCOUVER -- A youth curling coach facing three child sex charges in New Westminster is denying the allegations against him as CTV News learns he is a three-time Brazilian champion in the winter sport.
When police announced charges of sexual interference, invitation to sexual touching and sexual exploitation against 40-year-old Marcio Cerquinho, they accused him of using his position as a coach to gain trust.
Police would not say which curling clubs in Metro Vancouver Cerquinho is affiliated with but said the crimes are alleged to have occurred in New Westminster on May 14.
“The victim went to her mother to initially report the incident, advised that she was touched inappropriately by the accused and that she was forced to touch him,” said Sgt. Sanjay Kumar of the New Westminster Police Department.
In a telephone call with CTV News Friday, Cerquinho denied doing anything wrong.
“I would never touch anyone in Canada this way. I moved from Brazil. I spent a lot of money to stay here,” Cerquinho said. “My wife is pregnant. And I would not do anything to anyone like that.”
Cerquinho has represented Brazil at the Mixed Doubles Curling World Championships three times and also coached the country’s team at the 2020 Youth Olympics in Switzerland, a competition for players between the ages of 15 and 18.
“It’s a big surprise for us to know that he’s arrested for sexual offences in Canada,” said Gustavo Longo, a Brazilian winter sports journalist. "In Brazilian curling, it's like a bomb, this news."
Longo said Brazilian sports authorities would now examine Cerquinho’s conduct while with the team to determine if anything inappropriate happened.
Cerquinho has vowed to fight the charges.
“The only thing I can say is the way they are conducting this, they are trying to create someone that I am not,” he said.
None of the allegations against Cerquinho have been proven in court.
He was arrested on May 17 and then released with a number of conditions, including that he have no contact with any children under 16 unless in the presence of a responsible adult and only with approval from his bail supervisor.
His next appearance at New Westminster provincial court is scheduled for early June.
