Former US Olympian and LIU fencing coach sentenced for sex offenses
A former U.S.Olympic fencer and ex-fencing coach at Long Island University was sentenced to six years of probation this week after he pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor sex offenses.Ivan Lee faced two cases in separate incidents — one in Brooklyn and one in Nassau County — involving the same female fencer he coached at LIU. He was arrested in Brooklyn on Feb.
26, 2024, related to the first offense and put in cuffs again on March 21, 2024, in Nassau County. A criminal complaint indicated that the first incident occurred on Nov.8, 2023, at LIU’s Brooklyn campus inside a “college gymnasium” with the same address as the campus’ athletic center.During that incident, Lee, 44, put his hands on the woman’s chest without her consent and began kissing her neck while there were no teammates around.The second incident occurred on Nov.
21, 2023, when Lee took the woman to a seafood restaurant following a practice and put his hand on the center of her chest and squeezed her breasts without consent. Kings County Criminal Court vacated his conditional plea to forcible touching Tuesday after Lee took part in a court-ordered treatment program, USA Today reported, and a guilty plea to harassment in the second degree was not changed. Harassment in the second degree is a non-criminal violation in New York.Lee was given six years of probation, and Nassau District Court ordered Lee to enroll in a program for sex offenders. He had pleaded guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the third degree and one count of forcible touching in that case, according to the outlet. The woman was also given protective orders of two years and six years from the defendant, respective to each case.Lee was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2014, however, he has since lost his membership. The U.S.Center for Safe Sport also handed down a lifetime ban to Lee that will restrict his ability to coach. The organization, which was set up by U.S.
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