A former youth baseball coach who was well-known in Montreal’s West Island has been found guilty of sexual assault and sexual interference in a case that centred on one-on-one coaching sessions he gave to a 13-year-old boy.
Robert Litvack, who is from Dollard-des-Ormeaux, was charged in 2021. The incidents took place in 2020 and 2021.
Litvack worked as a coach and an administrator for the Lac-Saint-Louis baseball league from 2008 up until this year, where he had players who were between the ages of 13 and 21.
He also spent about a decade working as a coach and bench staff member for the minor hockey association in Dollard-des-Ormeaux until 2017.
Before and after coaching sessions with the victim, Litvack gave him massages which, according to the coach’s testimony, were meant to relieve the boy’s muscle pain.
During the trial, Litvack testified that he gave the teen about 15 massages in total: 10 with the boy’s pants on, and five with them off.
Litvack added that on one occasion, the teenager lowered his pants and asked for a massage, which the former coach said caught him by surprise.
The victim, who is now 16, gave a different version.
He testified that the former coach asked him to lower his boxers to give him a massage and he started to feel uncomfortable over time.
He also mentioned that Litvack used to tickle him during those encounters, which added to his discomfort.
Litvack said he never brought up the massages with the boy’s parents, saying they weren’t significant in the overall picture of the training.
The case will be back in court on Sept. 27.
The Crown and the defence will determine the next steps in the sentencing process.
According to the Canadian Criminal Code, a guilty verdict in a sexual assault case with a victim under the age of 16 carries a minimum punishment of five years in prison.