Brian Holm

[jdtate101]

Oh dear oh dear. Seems like Mr Holm is in a lot of trouble. He's been charged with sex with a minor (under 12) which carries a hefty prison sentence in Denmark. No court case date yet, as he's only been formally charged this week. This cannot be good news for OPQS staff and riders who have worked with him, many of whom (like Cav) have young children who might have been around Mr Holm from time to time.
I do hope that IF he's guilty he's dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. In any case, whatever the outcome, his career in cycling will most likely be over. I would imagine that a scandal like this is terminal for such a high profile job.

 

[Rasmus]

Brian Holm has not been charged with anything - yet. I don't know what the equivalent term is under British law (indictment, perhaps), but in Danish law what has happened ("sigtelse"), is a preliminary step giving him the rights of an accused, and allowing the police to proceed futher in the investigation. An actual charge ("tiltale") may or may not follow later.

No details of the actual case have been released, but reports in Danish press are that this case is in the very mild end of the range, along the lines of indecent exposure.

 

[montage]

Oh dear oh dear. Seems like Mr Holm is in a lot of trouble. He's been charged with sex with a minor (under 12) which carries a hefty prison sentence in Denmark. No court case date yet, as he's only been formally charged this week. This cannot be good news for OPQS staff and riders who have worked with him, many of whom (like Cav) have young children who might have been around Mr Holm from time to time.
I do hope that IF he's guilty he's dealt with to the fullest extent of the law. In any case, whatever the outcome, his career in cycling will most likely be over. I would imagine that a scandal like this is terminal for such a high profile job.

Step 1: Look at the beard

Step 2:

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

So what part of the OP is correct, any of it?

Edit - It would appear from having done a bit of reading on the internet that there are conflicting reports.

2nd edit - I have never managed to work out why people feel the need to make comments such as "if found guilty I hope the full force of the law is applied..." (paraphrasing the OP)

 

[Rasmus]

So what part of the OP is correct, any of it?

Edit - It would appear from having done a bit of reading on the internet that there are conflicting reports.

Well sex with a minor does carry a stiff prison sentence (up to 12 years, I believe).

A lot of the confusion probably comes from the fact that a single three or four sentence article of law covers everything from actual intercourse to indecent exposure, which makes the case easy to misinterpret and/or sensationalize - especially for the international press.

 

[SWSteve]

The age of the child hasn't been released (or it hadn't when I read the article), but what I read seemed to give the impression he is under investigation, but charges had not been presented (the article said if charged he would be in custody). This is a great opportunity for the press to just bound rumours/opinions around like the truth, which I imagine is what Holm was trying to avoid by coming out with this.

 

[Rasmus]

The stated reason for "going public" was that his daughter had gotten grief at school about dad being a criminal. The court had issued a "name protection injunction", which prevented the press from publicizing his name, but apparently did not stop them (or someone else) from phoning up his friends and associates and asking for comments.

 

[Roscoe]

Shame it has to come out before he's charged. No matter what happens, he'll be tarred for life with the accusation.

 

[Rasmus]

Final charges were filed a couple of weeks ago. Details were released to the press this morning in advance of court proceedings.

The case is "improper touching" in the groin area of a 7 year old girl, having taken place in the middle of the night in Brian's home (the girl and parents were visiting). He is pleading not guilty.

The trial is underway - there might be a verdict already this afternoon.

 

[Roscoe]

I thought this had all been resolved and he was no longer being investigated?? That shows how reliable Twitter is.

 

[KneesUp]

I had not heard anything about this. Google translate came up with this (from http://www.dr.dk/Nyheder/Indland/2014/07/02/071211.htm)

The trial of the 51-year-old former professional cyclist Brian Holm begins Wednesday morning in court in Frederiksberg.
He is, according to the indictment, as ABC News has just been given, charged with indecent exposure of a 7-year-old girl.
Prosecutors said therefore that Brian Holm has violated Penal Code section 232, which is punishable by both fine and imprisonment.
- In other cases of a similar nature are usually given 30 to 60 days in jail, says Claus Buhr, DR's legal correspondent.

At Brian Holm's residence
The indictment was the seven year old girl in Brian Holm and his wife custody of their home when the crime allegedly took place.
The indictment is clear details of how Brian Holm would have violated the girl both physically and mentally, and according to the girl even tried Brian Holm to take a picture of her.
The incident allegedly took place on 26 April this year between the hours of 03 and 05 at night, says the indictment.
- We have been indicted because we find the girl's explanation credible, says prosecutor Jakob Buch-Jepsen on the way into court.

Refusing to commit
Brian Holm pleads not guilty to the charge.It declared himself to DR, minutes before he entered the courthouse.
Tuesday said his lawyer Karoline Døssing Normann DR that she expects Brian Holm being acquitted in the case.
Despite the name ban in the case did Brian Holm even the public aware that he was charged with having sexkrænket a girl under 12.It was done on 27 May, when it came to light that a famous sports star was charged in such a case.
- I do not want to pretend that people do not know it, said Brian Holm at a hastily called news conference at a cafe in Copenhagen.

Expected judgment today
Brian Holm was a professional cyclist from 1986 to 1998. Today, he is the sports director of the cycling team Omega Pharma-Quick-Step.
He is also a councilor for the Conservatives to Fredericksburg, where he was elected last November.
The trial of Brian Holm starts at 9.30 am in the District Court of Frederiksberg.Expected judgment on Wednesday afternoon.​

 

[Rasmus]

Good to see google translate improving, although it still struggles with some of the more peculiar cases of sentence construction...

Latest news is that a verdict is unlikely to come today, possibly tomorrow.

 

[Rasmus]

There's been a great level of details reported in the press today, but I won't go into that. Suffice to say there is very little in the way of technical evidence, and the case essentially depends on trustworthiness of the statements given.

The prosecutor has asked for a sentence of a minimum of 50 days in prison. Defense asks for full acquittal.

 

[Rasmus]

The verdict is in: Not guilty.

 

[Roscoe]

Here's hoping he can put all this behind him now and get on with his life.