Charges: Twin Cities figure skating coach sexually abused student
A Twin Cities skating coach faces criminal sexual conduct counts for having sex with one of his students, who was 14 when the abuse began, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said Thursday.
Thomas Joseph Incantalupo of St. Louis Park was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. Incantalupo is expected to make his first appearance Friday.
"This conduct, if proven in court, deserves the severest penalty possible," Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement Thursday. "The trust this young girl, and her parents, put in Mr. Incantalupo was abused and that should never have happened. We will be filing for aggravated circumstances which will allow a judge to hand down a higher sentence if he is convicted."
According to the criminal complaint, Incantalupo first began coaching the girl when she was about 9 years old. "She was good enough that she traveled throughout the country, and the world, for training and competition," often traveling only with Incantalupo, Freeman's office said.
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The sexual abuse began in August 2015 when the girl was 14 and they traveled to Connecticut for training. They were staying at the house of another figure skating coach when one night Incantalupo slipped into his pupil's room and assaulted her, according to the prosecutor's complaint.
The abuse allegedly continued in 2016 and 2017 during trips to Argentina and Connecticut.
In September, Incantalupo took her from an Eden Prairie practice ring to a hotel and sexually abused her, returning her to the rink in time for her parents to pick her up. He did the same thing in October, November and December, the complaint states.
"Early this month, the girl told a friend what was happening. Her parents learned, and they went to the police. Tuesday, police had her wired for sound and when they met at the rink, she told Incantalupo she no longer wanted sexual contact from him. Incantalupo acknowledged the hotel visits and the sexual contact. Eden Prairie police then arrested him," Freeman's office said.