US Olympic and Paralympic officials fire coach and director after AP report on sexual abuse

The US Olympic & Paralympic Committee has fired a coach and a director after The Associated Press reported that the coach was accused of sexually abusing a young biathlete, causing her so much distress that she attempted suicide.

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"Following our thorough internal evaluation, we can confirm that Gary Colliander and Eileen Carey are no longer affiliated with the USOPC," spokesman Jon Mason told the AP. He refused to provide a reason, saying only that Colliander was put on administrative leave from the Paralympic team in December - days after the AP report on the alleged misconduct. The two were fired on March 14.

Colliander was accused of sexually abusing Grace Boutot, a biathlete he coached at the Maine Winter Sports Center over four years beginning in 2006 when she was 15, the AP reported. Colliander quit the job after Boutot's October 2010 suicide attempt and was later hired by the US Paralympic Nordic team.

Carey was the Maine center's vice president at the time of the abuse and had discussed it with Boutot's mother. After leaving the center in December 2010, Carey was hired as a coach and later promoted to director of the Paralympic team. She was there when Colliander came onboard.

Mason declined to say whether Carey hired Colliander or how the Paralympic team vets the coaches they hire. The US Center for SafeSport, created to investigate sex-abuse allegations in Olympic sports in the aftermath of the Larry Nassar US Gymnastics scandal, launched an investigation into Colliander in December.