All seven of the cyclists live and train at the Jalisco Code sports center located on Avenida Alcalde in Guadalajara. The alleged abuse took place in January.
The young cyclist has vowed not to abandon the sport even though he was abused by fellow athletes that he had looked up to. Some of the accused have represented the state in international competitions. The boy also said that on three other occasions eight other cyclists, five of them on the national team, had attacked him with a broom handle and a toothbrush in the same facility.
The day before charges were filed by the boy’s parents, he told his father that he was tired of the Code facility, where he had lived for the last year, training between eight and 11 hours per day.In a statement to the police, the boy said bullying was an everyday occurrence at the center. When the boy’s father complained about bullying to the coach, Raul Torres Pino, he responded that the young athlete also took part in rough behavior with his fellow athletes.
In January, the bullying became sexual abuse, the boy stated. He said the group had tried the same tactics with another young athlete, but he had escaped and complained to a Code official, but was rebuffed and sanctioned for his complaint.