COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—A judge on Tuesday ordered a member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic judo team to stand trial on allegations that he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl at a downtown Colorado Springs hotel.
Adler Volmar, 32, of Coral Gables, Fla., who has competed for both the U.S. and Haiti, is accused of assaulting the teen in the early-morning hours of Sept. 28, 2008. A phone listing for Volmar could not be found.
The girl, who was in Colorado Springs for a judo tournament, told authorities she went to a nightclub with her teammates and had seven drinks in three hours, police testified. She then got separated from the group and ran into Volmar, who helped her back to the hotel.
The girl told police she went to Volmar’s hotel room, where he forced her onto the bed and sexually assaulted her, officer Katherine Terrell said.
Volmar’s attorney, Harvey Steinberg, pointed out inconsistencies in the girl’s story. But District Judge David A. Gilbert found there was enough evidence to put Volmar on trial.
A 2007 Pan American bronze medalist, Volmar competed for Haiti at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta and bounced back from a knee injury last year to fight for the United States in Beijing. In 2007, he qualified for the world championships.
Volmar was suspended from the U.S. judo team after his arrest, said Jose Rodriguez, chief executive officer of Colorado Springs-based USA Judo.
“It is always a difficult situation when anyone is accused of any wrongdoing,” Rodriguez told The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. “But I do believe that everybody deserves their day in court and be given an opportunity to prove their innocence.”
———
Information from: The Gazette,
