A former Olympic athlete and veteran track coach will spend up to 11 years in state prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing young boys at a sports camp in western Massachusetts in the 1970s, abuse that was exposed by the emotional testimony of several victims. .
Conrad Mainwaring, who was a hurdler for Antigua and Barbuda at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, faced 12 counts of assault and indecent assault on a child over 14 and four counts of assault and indecent assault on a child under 14 years old in Berkshire Superior Court. The charges involved nine male victims.
“He used his Olympic status to abuse young boys,” District Attorney Timothy Shugrue told the court. ‘He chose young, attractive, athletic boys, young men because he knew, at least he thought he knew, that they wouldn’t talk. This was his chance for self-gratification, a fraud at the cost of many, many lives.
In a pattern that repeated itself over the years, Shugrue detailed case after case in which Mainwaring exploited his Olympic credentials as part of a grooming technique used on children attending Camp Greylock, leading them to believe that sexual assault would turn them into better athletes. The abuse took place in the forest surrounding the camp, in a van and near a tennis court, among other places.
After details of the cases were presented, Mainwaring, in a wheelchair and wearing a mask, said “yes” when the judge asked him if he had committed the offenses outlined in court. He then said “guilty” after reading each of the charges.
Conrad Mainwaring to spend up to 11 years in state prison after pleading guilty
Mainwaring appeared in court Thursday as several victims gave emotional testimony.
He faced 12 counts of assault and indecent assault on a child over 14 and four counts of assault and indecent assault on a child under 14 at Berkshire Superior Court.
Mainwaring, a 72-year-old Los Angeles resident and United Kingdom citizen, will serve his sentences for the multiple charges at the same time. But Judge John Agostini said it was “probably a life sentence” given Mainwaring’s age.
Mainwaring sexually abused campers from 1975 to 1979 while working as a counselor at Camp Greylock in Becket. Authorities have said they believe there are “many other victims” in several states and outside the United States.
Some of the camp victims, who ranged in age from 13 to 19, testified at Thursday’s hearing, recalling the shame and harm the abuse has caused them. Addressing Mainwaring directly, they called him a danger to young people. They demanded a long prison sentence, arguing that he would be kept away from children or young people and prohibited from training.
‘The pain and suffering of so many people is more than diabolical. “That’s why he should be put behind bars and prevented from harming anyone again,” John Shapiro, a businessman and father of three, who told the court how he was abused at the Massachusetts camp and at the University of Syracuse, “because given the chance he will. He has shown no signs of repentance or forgiveness. None. Once again, if given the opportunity, Mr Mainwaring will do this again.’
Shapiro also detailed the toll the abuse has taken on her life.
‘The trauma of that has caused my life to be filled with darkness, sadness and hopelessness. I have suffered so much for so many years,” Shapiro said. ‘Too painful to describe and too torturous to put into words, but I am making a try here and now. My life has never been the same since that fateful first time he sexually abused me.’ in Greylock.
Michael Waxman detailed how he met Mainwaring 40 years ago at camp, when he was 13 years old. Waxman, a Portland, Maine, attorney, told the court that at the time he was “very happy” that Mainwaring had chosen him and followed him to ‘the ends of the earth’ to pursue his dream of becoming a high-flying athlete. level.
“What you did to me had nothing to do with my dream,” he said, confronting Mainwaring for the first time in decades. “It was about satisfying your kinky sexual needs.”
Judge John Agostini said it was “probably a life sentence” given the man’s age of 72.
Mainwaring sexually abused campers from 1975 to 1979 while working as a camp counselor.
Waxman said the abuse left him ashamed and upset “for the first time in my life.”
“You stole part of my childhood, part of my innocence and frivolity,” he said. ‘Conrad, I really was a good boy. He didn’t deserve to feel ashamed. I didn’t deserve to feel disgusted with myself. You did it and you do it. What a shame.’
As the victims read their statements, Mainwaring would stare at the floor or twiddle his thumbs. He didn’t say anything directly to the victims.
Massachusetts authorities began investigating Mainwaring following a 2019 ESPN report in which more than 50 men alleged they were abused by him, some of them at Camp Greylock. He was arrested in 2021 on a fugitive warrant as he left a Los Angeles County courthouse after pleading guilty in a separate 2019 case.
“Everyone who brought Conrad Mainwaring to justice deserves our thanks, including law enforcement, the district attorney, ESPN journalists, and especially the brave men who shared his stories deserve the greatest gratitude,” said Saul Wolf , an attorney whose firm represents seven victims and filed lawsuits against Syracuse University in New York, the Syracuse school district and the Massachusetts camp.
“Now that Mainwaring intends to plead guilty and take responsibility, it is time for Syracuse University and Camp Greylock to accept responsibility and be held accountable,” he added.