Canadian women's gymnastics director charged with sexual abuses - police

By Anna Mehler Paperny

TORONTO (Reuters) - The director of the Canadian women's gymnastics team, David Brubaker, was arrested and charged in court with 10 counts of sexual crimes, police said.

Brubaker, who coached Canada's 2016 Olympics team, was arrested on Thursday and charged on Friday, police in Sarnia, Ontario, said in a statement on Friday.

Reuters attempts to reach Brubaker to comment on the charges were unsuccessful.

Gymnastics Canada, the national governing body for the sport, said in a statement that Brubaker was on administrative leave. It said it was "shocked and deeply troubled" by the charges.

Brubaker was charged with three counts of sexual assault, three counts of sexual exploitation, three counts of sexual interference and one count of invitation to sexual touching, police said.

Brubaker was released on bail pending a February court date, the police statement said.

A U.S. judge earlier this month sentenced Larry Nassar, the former USA Gymnastics team doctor, to 60 years in prison on federal child pornography charges. The case grew out of an investigation into allegations he sexually assaulted gymnasts.

Some sexual assault and harassment allegations have surfaced in Canada since the #MeToo movement began this year in the United States in response to allegations against prominent people in the entertainment industry, the media and politics.

(Reporting by Anna Mehler Paperny in Toronto; editing by Jim Finkle and Grant McCool)