A youth coach for one of the country’s premier ski clubs has been charged with sexually assaulting a minor.
Jared W. Hedges, 48, was arrested on March 21 during a team trip to Taos, N.M., where he and another coach managed a group of about 14 young skiers, according to court documents. Police arrested Hedges after a 9-year-old boy, the youngest on the team, told authorities that Hedges had sexually assaulted him.
For over 20 years, Hedges has worked as head coach for Team Summit Colorado‘s alpine racing program for skiers under 14. The ski club, based in Colorado’s Copper Mountain, focuses on training young athletes. Since 2019, Team Summit Colorado has been “gold-certified” by U.S. Ski and Snowboard, an honor intended only for clubs that are “truly the best in the world.”
Now, attorneys for the boy and his family are “extremely concerned” that Hedges may have assaulted other children, they said in an online press conference Wednesday.
“Mr. Hedges had access to children for over 20 years, and he was in charge of travel arrangements for several years,” Jason Jordan, the family’s attorney, said. “We are really worried that there are other kids out there who are either too scared or too embarrassed to come forward. We want them to know that it’s important they do.”
‘Shocked and Horrified’
In a statement, Team Summit Colorado’s executive director, CB Bechtel, said that Hedges had already been fired.
“We are shocked and horrified by the news that one of our coaches has been accused of sexual assault of a minor on one of our teams,” Bechtel said. “Team Summit takes these allegations seriously, as the well-being of all of our athletes is of paramount importance.”
Upon learning of the allegations against Hedges, the ski club immediately reported them to the U.S. Center for SafeSport, as required by US Ski and Snowboard, Bechtel said.
“We are cooperating fully with the local authorities, SafeSport, and other authorities in their investigation,” he said.
Few mentions of Hedges were available on the team’s website as of Wednesday. GearJunkie was unable to contact Hedges’ attorney.
Coach Faces Felony Charges
So far, evidence suggests Hedges “groomed” the boy over time, attorneys for the alleged victim said in Wednesday’s press conference. The 9-year-old boy, who had joined Team Summit Colorado last year, was the youngest skier on the team. (GearJunkie is not identifying the boy or his family.)
When Hedges and another coach took the team on a ski trip to Taos in March, they separated the group into two cabins — one for boys and one for girls. Both coaches had been drinking, and Hedges took the boys’ cabin, Jordan said. He was the only adult in the room and “set up the situation” so that he slept in a sleeping bag next to the 9-year-old boy, according to Jordan.
During the alleged assault, the crying boy woke up other children in the cabin, police said in a probable cause affidavit. The boy was able to get to his iPad, which he used to call his mother. She arrived on scene quickly, coming from a nearby hotel.
In a conversation with police, the mother recalled that earlier in the evening, Hedges had squeezed her son’s shoulders and called him “a very cute child,” court documents said.
Hedges packed up his things and was arrested while walking away from the cabin toward a road, police said. In interviews with authorities, the boy said he realized “there were signs” of Hedges’ behavior during his previous year on the team, Jordan said.
