French tennis player Fiona Ferro has filed charges against her ex-coach Pierre Bouteyre for rape and se*aul assault. Ferro alleges that the inappropriate actions were taking place between 2012 and 2015, when she was aged between 15 to 18.
Fiona Ferro has filed charges against her former coach Pierre Bouteyre for rape and sexual assault, from when she was as young as 15 years old https://t.co/EmnhORnubR — Michael (@lobwinners) August 31, 2022
Per French daily Nice-Matin, Ferro learned that her ex-coach was indicted on charges of rape and se*aul assault on August 18.
If convicted, 50-year-old Bouteyre could face up to 20 years in prison. According to the report, Ferro filed a complain in late February.
Pam Shriver reacts to the Ferro news
Earlier this year, ex-American tennis star Shriver opened up about her “inappropriate and damaging relationship” with late coach Don Candy.
When those inappropriate actions and abuse were taking place, Shriver felt ashamed and didn’t have the strength to go out and tell the world what was happening to her. After seeing the Ferro news, Shriver reacted: “May many more players feel the strength and support to report other situations of abuse of any kind.”
May many more players feel the strength and support to report other situations of abuse of any kind. — Pam Shriver (@PHShriver) August 31, 2022
When talking about her experience with abuse, Shriver said she knew there were other players who were in a similar position.
“I felt a lot of shame and guilt,” Shriver said earlier this year. “I felt also a lot of anger, jealousy when his wife would come to tournaments. So it was just basically, at times really miserable. And because I was, you know, living the life of trying to be the best tennis player I could be, I really didn’t understand how difficult the secret and the juggling was.
And so I just kept it to myself. Some of my close friends eventually learned, but you know what? It was kind of a little bit, I don’t want to say normalized, but I wasn’t the only one. We weren’t the only boundary-crossing relationship on the tour at the time.”
