Skating coach charged with sexual abuse of star pupil

A 47-year-old figure skating coach was charged with several counts of criminal sexual conduct for having sex with one of his students, who was 14 years old when the abuse began, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday.

Thomas Joseph Incantalupo, of St. Louis Park, was charged with one count of first-degree criminal sexual conduct and four counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct. He is expected to make his first appearance Friday.

“As a father and a former coach of young women, this conduct, if proven in court, deserves the severest penalty possible,” Freeman said. “The trust this young girl, and her parents, put in Mr. Incantalupo was abused and that should never have happened. We will be filing for aggravated circumstances which will allow a judge to hand down a higher sentence if he is convicted.”

According to the criminal complaint, Incantalupo first began coaching the girl when she was about nine years old. She was good enough that she traveled throughout the country, and the world, for training and competition. Often times, she traveled only with Incantalupo, who was responsible for her care and wellbeing.

The sexual abuse began in August 2015 when the girl was 14 and they traveled to Connecticut for training. They were staying at the house of another figure skating coach and one night Incantalupo slipped into his pupil’s room and assaulted her, the complaint states.

In April and May of 2016, Incantalupo took her to Argentina for coaching seminars, which he taught and she was the skater who provided the demonstrations, according to the complaint. The abuse continued, as it did on trips later that year and in 2017 to Argentina and Connecticut.

Finally, in September, Incantalupo took her from the practice rink in Eden Prairie to a hotel in the same city and sexually abused her there, returning her to the rink in time for her parents to pick her up. He did the same thing in October, November and December, the complaint states.

Early this month, the girl told a friend what was happening. Her parents learned and they went to the police. Tuesday, police had her wired for sound and when they met at the rink, she told Incantalupo she no longer wanted sexual contact from him. Incantalupo acknowledged the hotel visits and the sexual contact in the taped conversation, according to the complaint.

Eden Prairie police then arrested him.

Incatalupo Criminal Complaint (PDF)