A second Olympic skater now says Kansas City’s John Coughlin sexually assaulted her
Olympic figure skater Ashley Wagner has come forward as the second to say she was sexually assaulted by Kansas City’s John Coughlin, a champion pairs skater who died by suicide in January during an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct with minors.
Wagner, who also was raised for a time in Kansas City, said that she was 17 years old and Coughlin was 22 when, in June 2008, he sexually assaulted her after a party at a national team figure skating camp in Colorado Springs, Colorado. USA Today published her first-person account Thursday.
Coughlin’s family has steadfastly stood by Coughlin, who was 33 when he hanged himself Jan. 18 in his father’s Kansas City home. In May, one of Coughlin’s former skating partners, Bridget Namiotka, was the first to go public to say Coughlin sexually abused her when she was a teen, during the years the two competed together.
Wagner, now 28, is a three-time national champion who won a team bronze medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics. She told USA Today that after the party in Colorado, Coughlin got into her bed as she slept and began kissing and groping her.
“I was absolutely paralyzed in fear,” Wagner said.
“It was the middle of the night when I felt him crawl into my bed. I had been sleeping and didn’t move because I didn’t understand what it meant. I thought he just wanted a place to sleep. But then he started kissing my neck. I pretended to be deep asleep, hoping he would stop. He didn’t. When his hands started to wander, when he started touching me, groping my body, I tried to shift around so that he would think I was waking up and would stop. He didn’t.”
Wagner adds: “He was a man. But I was just a girl.” Wagner does not say Coughlin had intercourse with her.
“I then felt myself starting to cry,” Wagner recounted, “and I knew I had to make a choice. I opened my eyes and pulled away from him as he kissed my neck. I grabbed his invading hand, and I told him to stop. And he did. He looked at me for a few seconds, quietly got up and left the room. All of this happened over the period of about five minutes. That is such a small amount of time, but it’s haunted me ever since.”
Coughlin took his life in the midst of a suspension and investigation by U.S. Center for SafeSport. In February, Wagner told her story to U.S. Figure Skating and also told it to friends. She told USA Today that she had blocked out the event and was afraid to speak out as a competitor, but felt spurred to come forward with the rise of the #MeToo movement and news of the SafeSport investigation against Coughlin.
In May, Namiotka, Coughlin’s pairs teammate from 2004 to 2007, reported that he had inappropriate sexual relations with her when she was between ages 14 and 17 and Coughlin was 18 to 21. Namiotka came forward on Facebook in two posts.
“I’m sorry but john hurt at least 10 people including me,” she wrote. “He sexually abused me for 2 years. Nobody innocent hangs themself (sic).”
In reaction, she later reiterated, “Someone that’s innocent doesn’t hang himself. Think about the victims when you’re speaking up for what he did to at least 10 girls.”
Wagner, born in Germany to an Army family, was 6 years old and living in Kansas City when she saw 15-year-old skater Tara Lapinski on television winning a gold medal. It was then that she decided to become a figure skater.
“This (Kansas City) is where it all started,” Wagner told The Star in 2016. “This is where I decided to be an Olympian.”
In her account to USA Today, Wagner said she was at first reluctant to name Coughlin as her abuser, but decided that if she did not use his name, people would question her credibility. She does not think of herself as a victim, but thought it was important to come forward to help spur changes in her sport.
“I now know that regardless of the events of that night,” Wagner said, “I got into that bed thinking I was safe to just fall asleep. He was the one who took away that safety. I went into that house just wanting to have fun with my friends. He was the one who shattered all of that.”
She said she and Coughlin never spoke about the moment again.
“He never apologized, and I never asked for an apology,” Wagner said. “We both moved forward, never acknowledging what he did to me.”
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 12:27 PM.