– Instead, he received an award – NRK Vestland

– I realized it even then, but others must have too. Alarm bells have been ringing here for many years, says the man who has himself been a trainer in the martial arts environment for years.

Over ten years ago, he allegedly tried in vain to notify the Norwegian Martial Arts Association (NKF) about the coach who is now being prosecuted for abuse of children he trained.

The association will not comment on the incident to NRK.

Reacted to sharing hotel rooms

The man, whom NRK has chosen to anonymize due to the ongoing court case, says that it was impossible not to react to the coach’s behaviour.

– I reacted strongly to his behavior at a convention over ten years ago. Especially that he shared a hotel room with a performer, says the man and adds:

– What I saw was and is a clear violation of the rules. I feared that sexual abuse might also have occurred.

In court, several athletes told that sexual assaults must have happened in hotel rooms, in connection with sports events outside the city and abroad.

The defendant admits to having shared a hotel room with two of the victims, but denies that anything sexual has happened.

The association gave the award after notification

– At the convention, I caught hold of the Sports Director of the Martial Arts Association, Dag Jacobsen, and gave a direct verbal warning about possible abuse. I asked him to investigate this, the whistleblower tells NRK.

– What was done?

– Nothing, as far as I know. After I notified, the Martial Arts Association gave the trainer an honorary award instead.

NRK has found confirmation of the honorary award.

Two of the criminal offenses in the indictment against the man are dated before the notice.

The third must have happened after the verbal warning.

In retrospect, the man wishes he had followed up with a written warning, but says it was impossible to misunderstand the verbal warning and believes there should have been a reaction.

– It is terrible to think that he could and should have been stopped several years ago, says the whistleblower.

The martial arts association was informed by the police that the coach was under investigation in 2022, and has confirmed to NRK that the man is no longer a member of the association.

The accused coach denies criminal guilt. Judgment from the Hordaland district court falls at the end of the month.

Guilty

Another martial arts coach NRK has spoken to says that the indictment and trial have sent a wave of bad conscience through the martial arts community.

– As an adult and as a coach, I and several others should have done more for these poor girls. The way he behaved is probably the worst kept secret in our sport.

Previously, this coach was hired as an instructor in the club of the now accused man, and says he reacted to how the accused behaved and talked about younger athletes.

– Did you notify the Martial Arts Association or the police?

– No, and of course I regret that.

– Difficult for athletes to notify

The police became aware of the man in 2022. A woman then reported her former coach, after seeing that he was in the process of setting up new courses for children.

– It showed that he did not understand the seriousness of what he had done. What had happened to me should not be allowed to happen to anyone else, said the woman, choking back tears during the trial earlier this month.

The prosecutor said it was the woman’s courage that enabled the police to charge the man with abuse of power towards several athletes.

In Hordaland District Court, victims and witnesses told of a coach they were in awe of, and who they experienced as someone who consistently discriminated against athletes.

The coach who was hired by the defendant’s club believes that martial arts coaches generally have too much power over athletes. Among other things, by determining withdrawals for grading and competitions.

– That power relationship makes it difficult for athletes to notify, and shows how important it is that we as adults actually take responsibility, he says.

– Loophole

The police want the man to be denied the right to be a coach for children, which the man’s defense attorney disagrees with.

As NRK has mentioned, a conviction cannot prevent someone from continuing with private training offers. The Norwegian Sports Confederation (NIF) says they know of convicted coaches who continue in private management.

The trainers NRK has spoken to consider this a loophole in the legislation.

– A loophole that will be easier to exploit when he can show extensive coaching experience and awards from the association, says the whistleblower.

The association responds

NRK has been in contact with communications manager at NIF, Finn Aagaard.

Aagard says that NIF does not comment on individual incidents and will not answer NRK’s ​​questions about possible warnings or sanctions against the accused coach.

NIF points out that the defendant’s current club is privately run and that the association can therefore do nothing.

NRK has asked the Kampsportforbundet’s former sports director, Dag Jacobsen, about the verbal warning he is said to have received.

Until recently, Jacobsen was still employed by the union.

He does not wish to comment on the matter.

– It is the general secretary who answers on behalf of the union, writes Jacobsen in an e-mail to NRK.

NRK has contacted both adviser Kathrine Strand Hammond and general secretary Kim Eilertsen in NKF.

NRK has asked if there has been a notification about the coach who is now indicted, how the notification has been handled if so and whether the association has implemented sanctions against the indicted coach.

The answer from Secretary General Kim Eilertsen is:

– We cannot comment on individual cases.