A former Cape Cod rowing coach was arrested last week on child rape charges.
New reporting from the Boston Globe finds that Guy Monseair was fired from Cape Cod Rowing Inc. in 2009 for inappropriate conduct, and that year he was also investigated by the Barnstable Police Department.
Sports investigative reporter Aaron Leibowitz reported the story with his colleague at the Globe, Shannon Larson. CAI's Gilda Geist spoke with Leibowitz to learn more.
Gilda Geist Can you tell us what exactly Monseair is accused of?
Aaron Leibowitz Guy Monseair was arrested last week in New York on child rape charges. Specifically, he's being charged with four counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of indecent assault and battery on a child under 14. The charges relate to incidents between 2007 and 2009. Prosecutors say that they're continuing to investigate him, and therefore the details are still under seal.
GG One of the most interesting revelations from this most recent Globe article is the story that we hear from Peter Smith, who was president of Cape Cod Rowing Inc. during the years when Monseair was employed there. What did Smith tell you about what happened with the rowing club and with Monseair back in 2009?
AL So, Peter Smith was president of Cape Cod Rowing Inc. during this period between 2007 and 2009 when Guy Monseair was the coach of the youth girls team there. And what he talked about was in particular this trip that Monseair led of a group of rowers to South Africa in early 2009 to compete in regattas there. Monseair had led annual trips to South Africa for this team starting in 2007. After this trip, all of these concerns start to come to light about things that may have happened on the trip. Peter Smith talked to me about Monseair providing alcohol to these girls, who were no older than 16. He talked about some of the girls sitting on Monseair's lap in a car while they were driving in South Africa. And he also said that as girls began talking to their parents about some of what happened on this trip, there were statements made that were more sexual in nature that really raised the alarm for Peter Smith and for a lot of parents. And so that's when they got together and decided to go to Barnstable Police and also decided that Monseair should be fired from his job.
GG Barnstable Police investigated at the time. Smith says that Monseair admitted to giving the girls alcohol and letting them sit in his lap. What came of that investigation? And why wasn't there more that came of it?
AL So, what Barnstable Police have told us is that they conducted a thorough investigation at the time. They say there were more than 10 interviews done with some of the rowers and their parents about what went on in South Africa, about Monseair's relationships with the girls on the team. And essentially what he said was, there was no smoking gun. There was simply not enough to establish probable cause and make an arrest. A spokesperson for Barnstable Police told me that some of the victims back then, it seems, did not share everything that was going on at the time. And so, these new charges that have been brought are based on new information that Barnstable police received last month. And so, essentially what the police are saying about this 2009 investigation is that some of the victims were not willing to come forward or share what apparently was really going on back then.
GG So you reported that Monseair, after being fired from Cape Cod Rowing Inc., continued to work with underage rowers. Can you tell us more about where Monseair's career went after he was fired and investigated by police?
AL So after this South Africa trip, the board of Cape Cod Rowing Inc. decides to fire him. And very quickly, he spins off a new team based in Hyannis, and several of the girls who were on his team with Cape Cod Rowing Inc. go with him. One thing that we've been told is that he really had a strong personality [and] had a hold on a lot of these rowers and their families, and they were loyal to him. And so he continues coaching. At a certain point, he goes to New York, and then in 2014, he spins off his own club called City Island Rowing in the Bronx. And since 2014, that's where he was coaching. Law enforcement is encouraging other victims to come forward and is considering bringing additional charges.
Barnstable police say those with information related to this case should contact Detective Dennis Reddy at reddyd@barnstablepolice.gov or Detective Catarina Parache at parachec@barnstablepolice.gov. The Cape and Islands District Attorney's Office will be prosecuting the case.
For help for families and children impacted by child sexual abuse on the Cape and Islands, check out Children's Cove.
