Former coach of Brazil's national gymnastics team accused of sexual abuse

An former coach of Brazil's national gymnastics team has been accused of sexually abusing several young athletes, revealed Globo Television based on the testimonies of over 40 victims.

Fernando de Carvalho Lopes was dismissed on Monday from his position at the MESC club in Sao Bernardo do Campo, near Sao Paulo, where he had been training young gymnasts for about 20 years.

His dismissal came one day after the broadcast of the Sunday program Fantastico, which conducted the investigative journalism.

The MESC club explained in a statement that the coach had been "transferred to an administrative position" two years ago "after the first accusations" of abuse.

According to Globo, the Sao Paulo prosecutor's office has opened an investigation into the case, which is under secrecy.

Carvalho Lopes had already been removed from the national team, one month before the Rio de Janeiro-2016 Olympics, following a complaint by the parents of a young gymnast.

But the broadcast of Fantastico showed that many more teenagers revealed themselves as victims of the coach, who is 40 years old.

The investigation collected the testimonies of 80 gymnasts, 42 of whom claimed to have been victims of moral, physical or sexual abuse by the coach.

Some testimonies, very strong, describe inappropriate touching during and after training sessions.

"I woke up more than once with his hand inside my pants," said Petrix Barbosa, Pan American champion in 2011, the only one who testified openly.

"He asked me to masturbate and ejaculate in front of him," says another anonymous testimony.

In the same program, Fernando de Carvalho Lopes claimed to have "a clear conscience" and asked his accusers to "present the evidence to the justice."

Rio Olympics silver medalist Diego Hypolito, a former student of the coach, said he was not a victim of abuse but stated that he changed his mind about the matter in light of the wave of accusations.

"I thought it was just rumors, but today I don't think it's a false thing. Many people had the courage to speak out," he said.

The gymnastics world has also been affected by the Larry Nassar affair, a former American doctor sentenced in February to a prison term of 40 to 125 years for abusing at least 265 gymnasts.