Victims await sentence for former women’s Whitecaps, national coach

The sentencing process for the former women’s Vancouver Whitecaps and Canada U-20 women’s coach who pleaded guilty to committing sex crimes against four of his former players is under way.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutors outlined the agreed statement of facts in relation to Bob Birarda’s guilty plea, in which he has admitted to three counts of sexual assault, and one count of touching a young person for a sexual purpose.

The gallery at North Vancouver Provincial Court heard as the Crown detailed victim impact statements from four of his former players, whom Birarda groomed while they were as young as 16 years old.

The predatory behaviour began with complimentary remarks about their on-field performance, and escalated to emails and phone calls. Over time, correspondance moved away from discussions about the sport, and transitioned to discussions of a sexual nature. In at least one case, Birarda had sexual intercourse with a player.

Birarda was charged with several offences against four people in December 2020, and pleaded guilty in February of this year to three counts of sexual assault and one count of sexual touching.

The incidents date back to between January 1988 and March 2008. While he was a coach with both the women’s Whitecaps squad and Canada’s women’s under-20 team for the tail end of that period, some of the charges against him pre-date that period.

More than a dozen women involved in the teams came forward to accuse Birarda of acting inappropriately.

When former players initially came forward, the allegations included rubbing a player’s thigh, sending players sexual text messages, making lewd comments and bullying young women who ignored or spoke out against his behaviour.

The claims against him were first brought forward by now-retired Whitecaps women’s team player Ciara McCormack, who detailed the allegations in a February 2019 blog post.

“I started crying, I was just so surprised,” she told CityNews in 2020 when she found out charges had been laid against Birarda.

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• ‘I started crying’: Retired Whitecaps player relieved as former women’s coach charged with sex offences

McCormack’s blog launched a closer look at Birarda’s time with the Vancouver Whitecaps and eventually led to the club issuing an apology.

“I’m just really grateful for the women,” said McCormack. “I’m just really grateful that those people are having their voices and experiences validated, and I really hope that they get the same healing opportunity that I think a lot of us got last year from just having the story finally heard.”

Birarda was fired by Canada Soccer and the Whitecaps in 2008.

Next week, lawyers will meet in court to figure out a date for the defence to make its submissions.

-With files from The Canadian Press