Thierry Pellerin, the former Canadian gymnastics hopeful pleads guilty to sex crimes

Former Olympic hopeful and gymnastics coach, Thierry Pellerin just confessed to pushing two teenagers from the club of Gymnamic of Lévis , where he officiated, to send him intimate photos. He also admitted to having captured on video the private parts of eight boys when they urinated in the toilets of the gymnastics club.

Accusations far too heavy to deny

A well-known figure in Lévis, Thierry Pellerin was appreciated by everyone and no one would have suspected that he could commit such acts. But in July 2020, Lévis, Montreal and Canada fell from high when its former olympic gymnastics hopeful at the head of angel is arrested.

Two parents of teenagers aged 11 and 12 had filed a complaint against their children's coach. These complaints were filed after the father of one of the boys discovered compromising messages between Thierry Pellerin and his son, by confiscating the latter's phone.

Soon sexual exchanges have been found, as well as photos that had been erased. The coach initially defended himself from this by indicating acting like a "big brother to teach him life tricks". He also sent intimate photos , but asked the young boy not to talk about it.

The first name of a second boy from the gym club being mentioned in the exchanges, the father then warned the parents of this one, who immediately filed a complaint. The police officers then proceeded to his arrest and discovered, during the search of his home, many compromising pieces.

A hard drive containing 14 videos of eight children, aged 6 to 12 years, was found in particular.

Faced with these serious accusations, Thierry Pellerin had no choice but to confess his actions, surprising his entire city and the Canada , he who was seen as a model and often taken as an example.

An exemplary journey at first glance

Thierry Pellerin, now 24 years old, is a former professional gymnast and coach at the Gymnamic club in Lévis. It was at the age of 15 that he specialized in horse of arches and it is this discipline that will make him known and allow him to discover the professional world. In particular, he invented a movement with a horseshoe, which bears his name: the " Pellerin ».

After discovering the international scene at the age of 18, he became the champion of Canada on the horse d'arçons. He is best known for being an Olympic hopeful for the tokyo games . The children he coached considered him to be " idol "and a" model ", a status that he undoubtedly took advantage of to get what he wanted.

The charges brought against Thierry Pellerin

The coach is accused of multiple counts including mainly the lure , for deceiving them and abusing his status to achieve his ends. He is also accused of inciting sexual contacts, making sexually explicit material available to a minor, possession of child pornography and production of child pornography.

So it's the descent into hell for the former Canadian rising star of the gymnastics , who is likely to spend very long years behind bars.