The prosecutor’s office has filed an indictment against basketball coach Andris Steļmahas for four possible crimes of a sexual nature against one of his students, the LETA agency found out.
Without mentioning the person’s name, the prosecutor’s office confirmed to the LETA agency that one criminal offense has been charged under the article of the Criminal Law for sexual acts with a person who has not reached the age of 16. On the other hand, three criminal offenses have been charged under the article of the Criminal Law for indulging in prostitution.
For acts of a sexual nature with a person who has not reached the age of 16, the law stipulates deprivation of liberty for a period of up to five years, probation supervision or community service. Such punishment is also provided for indulging in fornication.
The State Police previously stated in a press release that the criminal proceedings were initiated on April 21, 2023, based on the victim’s submission that from 2014 to 2015, the sports coach, with whom she was training at the time, had performed sexual acts with her , realizing that she had not reached 16 years.
In the course of the criminal trial, it was established that until the victim was 16 years old, the two had consensual sexual relations, which the victim hid from her parents and friends. After several years, when the victim reached the age of majority, the relationship escalated with the marriage of both parties, which broke up shortly after its conclusion.
Also, during the investigation, no information was found that the suspect had sexual relations with other minors.
The “Delfi” portal previously announced that several violations were recorded in the work of coach Stelmach – emotional violence against female students, seduction and alcohol consumption during the work process.
Last April, Stelmakhs was temporarily suspended from work at the Jūrmala Sports School, but later he returned to work and trains 16- to 18-year-old basketball girls.
According to the information published on the website of the Council of Latvian Sports Federations (LSFP), Steļmah has a B category basketball coach’s certificate valid until April 23, 2025.
Steļmahs resigned from the position of the head coach of the Latvian U-18 women’s basketball team at the end of March last year after his dishonest actions in the Latvian Women’s Basketball League (LSBL) game for bronze medals, in which “Jūrmala” won by him, caused a wide resonance. After this incident, Steļmahs also suspended his participation in the LBS Coaches Commission.
Stelmakhs himself calls the information about his possible violations slander and rumours.
