Canadian figure skater Nikolaj Sorensen has been suspended for a minimum of six years due to sexual maltreatment, the Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner announced Wednesday.
This suspension has been recorded on the office’s abuse-free sport registry and can be contested or appealed.
In response, Skate Canada, the governing body for figure skating in the country, issued a statement acknowledging the decision from Abuse-Free Sport and confirming that it will take the necessary steps to comply.
"The ban will be issued by Skate Canada," the statement reads.
The suspension follows an investigation into an allegation that Sorensen sexually assaulted an American figure skating coach and former skater in Hartford, Connecticut, in 2012.
Sorensen has denied the allegation, which has not been tested in court.
Sorensen and skating partner Laurence Fournier Beaudry were active last season despite the allegation and investigation.
In January, the pair withdrew from the Canadian figure skating championships in Calgary. However, in March, they competed at the world championships in their home base of Montreal.
The Office of the Sport Integrity Commissioner opened in June 2022 to handle complaints and investigations for national-level athletes in sporting organizations that sign on to the program. Former Sports Minister Pascale St-Onge established it as an independent body for abuse complaints following Hockey Canada’s scandal that year.
Since August 2023, the office has announced eight suspensions, including Sorensen’s. The 35-year-old Sorensen is the sixth among those suspended for sexual maltreatment.
Tyler Myles is the only other Skate Canada member to have been suspended, currently ruled to have permanent ineligibility for boundary transgressions, interference with or manipulation of the process, physical maltreatment, and sexual maltreatment.
However, the decision is "under challenge based on the applicability of the UCCMS (Universal Code of Conduct to Prevent and Address Maltreatment in Sport)."
