Winnipeg woman, 28, charged with sexually assaulting teen girl she coached on hockey team
Madison Biluk charged with 15 offences, including luring, sexual interference, possessing child pornography
WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.
A 28-year-old hockey coach has been charged with 15 offences — including sexual assault, sexual exploitation and luring — in connection with a player she once coached, Winnipeg police say.
Investigators first received a tip last month about a "sexually exploitative relationship" between Madison Biluk and a teenage player from 2019-21.
"There's all different reasons that survivors come forward. I can't speak on the reasons why this young lady came forward, but it's harrowing and very brave," Const. Dani McKinnon said.
"Sport is supposed to be safe, so it's difficult for the entire community."
Biluk was also charged with:
- Sexual interference.
- Invitation to sexual touching.
- Luring a person under 16.
- Two counts of luring a person under 18.
- Two counts of transmitting, making available, distributing or selling sexually explicit material to a person under 16.
- Two counts of transmitting, making available, distributing or selling sexually explicit material to a person under 18.
- Making, printing, selling or possessing for the purpose of publishing child pornography.
- Importing, distributing, selling or possessing for the purpose of distributing or selling child pornography.
- Possessing child pornography.
- Assault with a weapon.
- Assault.
Biluk, from Winnipeg, coached with Hockey Manitoba from 2018-23 and is accused of "grooming and gaining the trust of the survivor," who was a teenager, while she was a coach in her 20s, McKinnon said.
The abuse occurred over about two years, McKinnon said. It started when the girl was younger than 16 but continued after Biluk was no longer the teen's coach, police allege.
McKinnon said the survivor came forward after an initial report from someone else "within the hockey organization."
"I hope, personally, that the survivor in this can move forward in a healthier, peaceful direction," McKinnon said. "She is a phenomenal person. This is a very brave action."
McKinnon would not say which teams Biluk worked for. A father in Alberta contacted CBC News Friday and said Biluk also coached there.
Biluk, who is no longer coaching, was released by police with conditions.
The Canadian Centre for Child Protection says women aren't often the perpetrators of these types of acts, but it does happen.
"While we rarely see women involved, you still will have instances of this," said associate executive director Signy Arnason."You often, if you're going to see it, you'll see it often with the adolescent victim. So it's incredibly sad, it's incredibly troubling, but you do see it."
The investigation continues. Anyone with information is asked to contact the sex crimes unit at 204-986-6350.
Local organizations took swift action
Kyle Willis, the director of Interlake Minor Hockey, said his organization was first made aware about the situation from a social media post that contained allegations of abuse. Governing hockey bodies at the city and provincial level along with RCMP and Winnipeg police were promptly contacted, he said.
"We took it super serious. It's a child and a coach," he said. "The reaction was kind of shocking, but there wasn't really time for anyone to be shocked because we had to make sure that the survivor that put the post up was taken seriously and everything was going through the right channels, to the right people, and it did."
Hockey Manitoba executive director Peter Woods also in a statement Friday the organization, along with Hockey Winnipeg, "learned of an alleged sexually exploitative between a coach and a player between 2019 and 2021 through a video circulating online."
"The Winnipeg Police Service was notified and we sent this information to Hockey Canada's independent third party," he said.
The statement also says Biluk is ineligible to participate in Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs, "including as a coach, a guest coach or volunteer," while the independent third party complaint process is ongoing.
Hockey Manitoba said they're unable to comment further as the matter is now part of an ongoing police and independent third party investigation.
Willis also said if there are any other victims, he hopes they'll come forward too.
"I really hope if there are, that they come forward soon so they can get the help they need to kind of navigate all this as well," he said.
Support is available through Winnipeg Police Service victim services at 204-986-6350 and the Klinic Sexual Assault Crisis Line at 204-786-8631.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
With files from Karen Pauls