Ex-Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach 'forced player into sex'
An ex-Chicago Blackhawks assistant coach, who is now a convicted sex offender, allegedly threatened a player with a baseball bat before forcing him into non-consensual sex 11 years ago, a lawsuit claims. Bradley Aldrich has been accused in two separate lawsuits of sexually assaulting two Blackhawks players back in 2010, as well as a former student who he was convicted of assaulting in 2013. New details about the alleged assault of the players emerged on Thursday after amended versions of the lawsuits, which were first lodged in May, were filed. The lawsuits have been filed against the Chicago Blackhawks and accuses the hockey team of doing nothing after being informed of the assault allegations a decade ago, which allegedly occurred during a playoff run to a Stanley Cup title. Bradley Aldrich has been accused in two separate lawsuits of sexually assaulting two Blackhawks players back in 2010, well as a former student who he was convicted of assaulting in 2013 According to one of the amended suits, which was obtained by the , an unidentified Hawks player claims Aldrich forced him to have non-consensual sex after inviting him to his apartment under the guise that they would be going over game clips together. The player, who has since retired, alleges that Aldrich started watching porn and masturbating in front of him. When the player tried to leave, Aldrich allegedly blocked the door and 'physically threatened' him with a souvenir Cubs baseball bat. The lawsuit says that Aldrich told the player he would 'never play in the NHL... if [he] did not engage in nonconsensual sexual activity with Aldrich at that time'. The player said he was 'paralyzed in fear' and that Aldrich allegedly then touched him, performed 'lewd and lascivious' acts and then ejaculated on him, according to the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that Aldrich also assaulted another unidentified Blackhawks player. The second player is not suing the team. The second lawsuit was filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan after he left the Blackhawks. The former student, who Aldrich was convicted of assaulting, filed a separate lawsuit against the Blackhawks accusing them of providing positive references to future employers of Aldrich. The lawsuits have been filed against the Chicago Blackhawks and accuses the team of doing nothing after being informed of the assault allegations a decade ago, which allegedly occurred during a playoff run to a Stanley Cup title (pictured above) The second lawsuit was filed by a former student whom Aldrich was convicted of assaulting in Michigan in 2013 after he left the Blackhawks That suit says the student was a hockey player at Houghton High School near Hancock in 2013 when Aldrich sexually assaulted him at an end-of-season gathering. Former skills coach, Paul Vincent, (above) claims he informed executives about the allegations, including then-team President John McDonough and current general manager Stan Bowman, but they allegedly refused to inform police He is now on Michigan's registry of sex offenders regarding that assault. The lawsuit filed by the player claims that the team did nothing after being informed of the allegations. According to the lawsuit, Hawks skills coach James Gary convinced the player that he was responsible for the alleged assault. Gary, who has since retired, has denied knowing anything about the allegations. Another skills coach, Paul Vincent, claims he informed executives about the allegations, including then-team President John McDonough and current general manager Stan Bowman, but they allegedly refused to inform police. 'I feel a weight has been lifted off of me,' Vincent told TSN last month. 'I will stand up in court and say what happened. I know what the team did to cover this up and coming forward was the right thing to do.' In court documents related to the lawsuits, the team argued they did not have a 'statutory duty' to report the allegations because the player was not a minor. Chicago Blackhawks senior vice president and general manager Stan Bowman on Thursday vowed to cooperate with the investigation but refused to answer when asked if he was part of a meeting regarding the allegations at the time An attorney for the player, who is also representing the student, claims inaction by the Blackhawks helped enable Aldrich to go on and assault the Michigan student. 'Had the Blackhawks accurately reported what had occurred with John Doe 1, then Aldrich would never have been allowed to be in a position where he could molest other people,' attorney Susan Loggans said. The team has since ordered an internal review, which is being run by a former federal prosecutor and is still ongoing. Bowman on Thursday vowed to cooperate with the investigation but refused to answer when asked if he was part of a meeting regarding the allegations at the time. He cited the ongoing litigation. 'The review itself is something that I do plan to participate in and I´m going to give it my full cooperation,' Bowman said. 'We have some experts that we brought in. From my understanding these are well-respected people in the legal community, and I intend to fully cooperate with them. 'We take this very seriously. I take this very seriously. But we have to let the process play itself out. That´s where things are today. We´re going to let this play itself out.' Longtime Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, now with Florida, said recently he reached out to the organization to say he 'will support and participate in the independent review.'