Riga City Court has found basketball coach Andris Steļmahs guilty of four sex crimes committed against his trainee and sentenced him to 400 hours of community service, as LETA was told by the court.
The coach previously fully admitted his guilt and made a deal with the prosecutor, which the court later approved.
The prosecutor’s office did not tell LETA why this form of punishment was selected. Nevertheless, the office did say that “upon the emergence of the preconditions of the Criminal Procedure Law, which allow concluding an agreement with the accused, this was also done from the side of the state prosecutor, determining the type and measure of punishment in accordance with the general principles of imposition of punishment laid down in the Criminal Law”.
Without mentioning the name of the person, the prosecutor’s office previously confirmed to LETA that one criminal offence was charged under the section of the Criminal Law on sexual acts with a person under the age of 16. In turn, the charge of three criminal offences was brought under the section of the Criminal Law on leading to depravity.
The State Police previously indicated in a press release that the criminal proceedings were initiated on the 23rd of April, 2023, on the basis of the victim’s application that between 2014 and 2015, the basketball coach she was training with had performed sexual activities with her, knowing that she had not reached 16 years of age.
In the course of the criminal proceedings, it was found out, however, that even though the victim was 16 years old at the time, the sexual act was consensual, which is a fact the victim kept secret from her parents and friends. Several years later, when the victim reached the age of maturity, the relationship escalated with the marriage of both parties, which broke down shortly after its conclusion.
The investigation did not confirm whether the suspect had a sexual relationship with other minors.
Delfi portal previously reported that there were multiple violations found in the work done by Steļmahs – emotional abuse of trainees, seduction and alcohol consumption during the work process.
Steļmahs was previously suspended from his work at Jūrmala Sports School, but he returned later and trained 16 to 18-year-old girls.
According to the information published on the website of the Latvian Council of Sports Federations (LSFP), Steļmahs, who had a valid B category basketball coach certificate until the 23rd of April, 2025, is no longer listed among certified sports specialists.
Steļmahs resigned from the position of head coach of the Latvian U-18 women’s basketball team after a scandal caused by his dishonest actions in the Latvian Women’s Basketball League (LSBL) game for bronze medals, in which his Jurmala team won. After this incident, he also suspended his membership in the LBS Coaching Commission.