Ex-Whitecaps, Soccer Canada coach gets jail for sex assault

By: The Associated Press Posted: 4:25 PM CDT Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2022

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) — Former Vancouver Whitecaps and Soccer Canada coach Bob Birarda was sentenced Wednesday to over a year in jail after pleading guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching involving teens.

Read this article for free:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

Read unlimited articles for free today:

or

Already have an account? Log in here »

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 02/11/2022 (1432 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Provincial court judge Deanne Gaffar said Birarda “immeasurably harmed” and violated the sexual integrity of four “youthful” soccer players, three of whom were under 18 years old at the time of the offenses.

Birarda, 55, was sentenced to nearly 16 months in jail and eight months served in the community under conditions that have not yet been disclosed.

Gaffar said Birarda abused his position of trust with the victims between 1988 and 2008. She said they feared rejecting his interest in them would harm their soccer careers.

Birarda pleaded guilty in February to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching.

He apologized at his sentencing to the victims and his family.

Birarda was the women’s coach for the Vancouver Whitecaps and the Canadian national youth soccer teams.