A German coach has been suspended from hosting the Special Olympics World Games after it was revealed he is under investigation for 29 counts of child sexual abuse between 2018 and 2022.

According to Berlin-Brandenburg broadcaster rbb, Germany’s Special Olympics (SOD) has suspended a cycling coach from its World Paralympic Games team pending an investigation into allegations of sexual abuse of schoolgirls. “The coach was immediately relieved of all duties and activities related to Special Olympics Germany. He is no longer a member of TeamSOD, his accreditation has been revoked and he has been forced to leave the team hotel,” the German organization said in a statement.

According to rbb, a court in Frankfurt in Oder, in the state of Brandenburg, has already imposed a temporary suspension of the license of 55-year-old Torsten K., however, the ban concerns his work as a primary school teacher and not as a coach. He participated in the German mission as a cycling coach, but also as an athlete father.

In the run-up to the Special Olympics World Games, all members of the delegation had to provide a criminal record certificate and sign the Special Olympics Deutschland Code of Honor. The coach in question hid from the authorities that there is an ongoing legal proceeding against him. The trial has been temporarily suspended due to the judge’s illness and will resume on November 6.

More than 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities from 190 countries are participating in the Special Olympics World Games held in Berlin from June 17 to 25, competing in 26 sports.