Sigulda Sports School Coach Dismissed Over Inappropriate Messages to Underage Student
A sports school in Sigulda, Latvia, has dismissed a coach who sent inappropriate messages with sexual overtones to an underage student. Police were not informed, and the local authority admits not all proper steps were taken.
The Sigulda municipality sports school in Latvia has terminated the employment of a coach who sent inappropriate text messages to an underage student, messages that indicated sexual interest. The case was reported by Latvian Television and the portal lsm.lv. It raises the question of whether those involved in child protection acted correctly and alerted the responsible authorities in time.
How the school learned of the messages
School director Karīna Putniņa found out about the coach's messages from another teacher. She described them as "pretty heavy artillery," although expressed indirectly. The coach was summoned for a conversation, in which he confirmed that he had written such messages, and his employment was ended immediately.
The coach himself told Latvian Television that he had sent the texts while intoxicated and regretted it. In his own words, his career was over.
Police were not notified
Latvian Television states that the director, the coach who had reported to her, the officials she approached, and the federation of the dismissed coach's sport all knew about the incident. Any of them could have informed both the police and the Children's Protection Centre, but this was not done.
The director explained that she did not report further because the school felt everything had been done to protect the child at that moment.
Oksana Vanaga, head of the Education Department of the Sigulda municipality, said the director acted as best she could according to her own judgment and the information available. At the same time, she acknowledged that not all the proper steps were completed, since the police were not informed in writing.
