Skating coach on probation after asking teen for sex

A former Hayden in-line skating coach accused of soliciting sex from a teenage athlete has been sentenced to 12 years in prison, but a Coeur d’Alene judge suspended the sentence in lieu of probation.

Harold “Joe” Legault, 59, who faced one felony count of sexual abuse of a child, was placed on a three-year term of supervised probation and First District Judge Cynthia K.C. Meyer ordered him to register as a sex offender.

If Legault violates the terms of probation, he could be made to serve the prison time.

Deputy prosecutor Laura McClinton asked for a 20-year sentence for Legault, who she said had similarly taken advantage of other teenage skaters under his tutelage. None of them wanted to come forward.

“The victim in this case is not the only one,” McClinton said. “He had access to young girls and groomed individuals he thought he could take further.”

Defense attorney John Redal said his client’s actions were “creepy and weird,” but not worthy of a lengthy prison sentence.

Legault has no criminal history, Redal said.

He took a polygraph test to refute further allegations of other victims. His psychosexual evaluation showed Legault was “a very low risk to reoffend,” Redal said.

Legault, a former coach of CDA InlineRacing, was indicted last year for allegedly soliciting sex from a 15-year-old skater when he was a club coach. He was sanctioned by the U.S. Center for SafeSport, which oversees disciplinary records for the U.S. Olympic and Paraolympic organizations.

In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors wanted to see a polygraph and psychosexual evaluation showing Legault is a low risk to reoffend before allowing him to attend prison rehab and be put on probation.

The maximum penalty for sexual abuse of a child is 25 years.

Legault told the court that he had no intention of having sex with the teenager.

“My whole life I have been a jokester, prankster, flirter, constantly saying inappropriate things at inappropriate times,” he said. “It really hurt me when I saw the way they reacted to what I did.”

Meyer wasn’t moved.

“There is a huge difference between making an occasional inappropriate comment … and separating yourself in a room alone with a young girl, kissing her and asking if she would sleep with you,” Meyer said.