Former Winnipeg hockey coach pleads guilty to luring, sexually assaulting teenage player

WARNING: This article contains details of abuse.

A former Winnipeg hockey coach has pleaded guilty to sexual assault and luring after being charged last year in what prosecutors described as a sexually exploitative relationship with a teenage player.

Madison Biluk, now 29, was charged in November 2023 with more than a dozen offences that included sexual exploitation and possessing child pornography, related to abuse that court heard happened between October 2019 and February 2021.

Biluk was between 24 and 26 years old at the time, while the player was 15 and 16, Crown attorney Larissa Campbell read from an agreed statement of facts in a Winnipeg courtroom Wednesday afternoon. The player’s identity is protected by a court-ordered publication ban.

Court heard while Biluk’s relationship with the player started with driving her to practices and taking her skating, it later involved late-night calls and private messages on Snapchat that included explicit photographs and personal discussions about sex and relationships.

Biluk at one point told the player they shouldn’t pursue a relationship because she was her coach, but her behaviour quickly escalated and soon involved taking intimate and nude videos and photos with the girl and kissing and touching the player sexually, Campbell said.

That included one occasion when they were travelling for a hockey game and Biluk texted the girl to come to her hotel room, where she performed sexual acts on her.

Biluk, who is no longer coaching and remains out on bail under conditions, appeared in court alongside a group of family members on Wednesday afternoon. The remaining charges she faced were stayed.

Fake Snapchat account

Court heard the girl lost many of her friends as a result of how much time she spent with Biluk, who told her to keep their relationship secret. When her grades started to slip because she was missing school, the teen lied to her parents about where she was.

By the spring of 2020, the girl no longer wanted to be in a relationship with Biluk but continued to meet with her to engage sexually, which Campbell said was because the girl “was emotionally attached to the accused, and felt that this was the only way to keep [her] in her life.”

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When the girl started to move on and pursue relationships with people closer to her own age, court heard Biluk made a fake Snapchat account to send the girl’s friends disparaging comments about the teen’s new girlfriend.

Court heard the two ceased all contact by February 2021. But the teen, who had confided in Biluk that she was depressed and that she’d been sexually abused by a trusted adult, continued to struggle.

That resulted in a suicide attempt in early February 2023. Court heard that around that time, the girl called Biluk asking for help “and suggested that the accused had played a role in her state of mental health,” Campbell said.

About a week later, the girl ended up at the Crisis Response Centre following another suicide attempt.

Messages about ‘risky’ relationship

Not long after, the girl started to process what had happened between her and Biluk, and in October 2023 she posted a TikTok video detailing her experience that came to the attention of police.

The teen later shared with police a number of photos and videos of her and Biluk together, as well as messages in which Biluk referred to their relationship as “one of the most risky things in my life.”

After Biluk was arrested, she said she still cared for the player but said she was shocked by the TikTok video she’d posted and described the teen as a “pathological liar,” Campbell said. 

Police later seized Biluk’s phone, where they found emails and Snapchat messages related to the player, including a message in which she told someone she didn’t think things like age or how a couple met should matter in a relationship.

“Who are people to decide what is socially acceptable and what isn’t?” Biluk wrote.

Repeated concerns about coach’s behaviour

Court heard Biluk coached hockey from 2019 through 2023, and during that time drew concerns on several occasions from coaching staff who said her behaviour went beyond the professional coach-and-player relationship, Campbell said.

Those concerns resulted in several warnings but did not curb her behaviour.

After her contact with the player ended, Biluk continued coaching in Alberta and Manitoba, where her behaviour again raised concerns about inappropriate boundaries with players. While there were investigations into her behaviour in both provinces, no further charges were pursued, Campbell said.

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During their investigation into Biluk’s behaviour with the teen she pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting and luring, court heard police received several letters from parents of other players on the girl’s team who “painted a negative picture of the accused’s coaching skills, professionalism and ability to draw appropriate boundaries with underage players.”

Court heard the teen still struggles with her sexuality, mental health and ability to maintain healthy relationships.

Biluk will be sentenced at a later date.

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For anyone who has been sexually assaulted, there is support available through crisis lines and local support services via the Ending Violence Association of Canada database. ​​If you’re in immediate danger or fear for your safety or that of others around you, please call 911. 

If you or someone you know is struggling, here’s where to get help:

If you’re worried someone you know may be at risk of suicide, you should talk to them about it, says the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention. Here are some warning signs: 

• Suicidal thoughts.
• Substance abuse.
• Purposelessness.
• Anxiety.
• Feeling trapped.
• Hopelessness and helplessness.
• Withdrawal.
• Anger.
• Recklessness.
• Mood changes.