Former USA Climbing team member charged with multiple counts of child rape
(The AEGIS Alliance) – A man who was formerly a member of the USA Climbing team was apprehended by authorities and is facing 3 separate charges of child rape in the third degree, according to police on Tuesday.
Seattle man Alexander Fritz is implicated in having sex-related contact with athletes who were underage varying from 12 to 16 years of age, in the cities of Mukilteo, Redmond, as well as Bothell in Washington, in addition to Canada.
Fritz operated as a coach and route-setter for the Vertical World climbing fitness center in Redmond, cops mentioned.
Last week on Wednesday, an investigator along with the U.S. Center for SafeSport talked to Redmond Detective Marshall Tolbert concerning accusations about Fritz’s participation in sex-related misconduct with underage athletes.
SafeSport is a government-mandated investigatory agency that functions to end abuse in sporting activities. It had carried out an investigation into claims of abuse by Fritz.
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The investigation consisted of interviews with athletes and their parents, in addition to a supervisor at a climbing fitness center Fritz and a number of the athletes often visited.
Investigators delivered documents to Detective Tolbert as well as interviews connected to the probe. On February 2, detectives in Redmond apprehended Fritz in Seattle.
Marc Norman, the CEO of USA Climbing stated the association is “deeply disturbed by the allegations” and also said thanks to SafeSport as well as local area authorities for collaborating.
“We are absolutely committed to creating a safe environment for the entirety of our community and call upon our athletes, parents, coaches, gyms, and all members to remain vigilant and report any suspected abuse,” the President of USA Climbing’s board of directors Bruce Mitchell, pointed out.
“We especially want to thank those individuals who, in some cases reliving painful experiences, reported this matter to the U.S. Center for SafeSport,” Mitchell stated.
The FBI was forwarded the case because of accusations that the abuse could have taken place in Canada also.
Alexander Fritz is jailed at the Snohomish County Jail on a $500,000 bond.
Jeffrey Childers – The AEGIS Alliance – This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
