Fencing coach sentenced after pleading guilty to sex offenses

Ivan Lee, a former U.S. Olympian, has been sentenced after pleading guilty to two misdemeanor sex offenses involving a female fencer he previously coached at Long Island University in Brooklyn, New York.

On May 6, a conditional plea to forcible touching in one offense was vacated by the Kings County Criminal Court after Lee, 44, participated in a court-ordered treatment program, according to the Clerk of Court’s office.

His guilty plea to harassment in the second degree (physical contact) – a non-criminal violation of New York law – remains unchanged, according to the Clerk of Court’s office.

In a second case, Lee was given six years of probation and ordered to enroll in a program for sex offenders by the Nassau District Court after pleading guilty to one count of sexual abuse in the third degree and one count of forcible touching, according the Clerk of Court’s office.

In each of the two cases, the woman received protective orders – one that prohibits Lee from contacting her for two years and the second that prohibits Lee from contacting her for six years, according to court records and court officials.

The offenses took place in 2023, according to court officials.

‘Before this happened, fencing was my passion,’’ the woman said in a statement read during a Feb. 19 sentencing hearing at the Nassau County District Court. “It was more than just a sport to me; it was where I felt strong, disciplined, and in control.

“But after what he did, it became a place of fear and pain. …The mental and emotional toll has been unbearable.”

Lee and his attorney, Craig Hayes, did not respond to USA TODAY Sports requests for comment.

Lee, who competed at the 2004 Olympics, resigned as Board Chair of USA Fencing in December 2023 after the organization suspended him.

He was inducted to the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2014 but has been stripped of membership to the hall.

Lee also has received a lifetime ban from the U.S. Center for SafeSport, created by Congress to address sexual abuse of athletes in Olympic sports. The ban will restrict his ability to coach.

Jack Wiener, an attorney who represented the victim pro bono, told USA TODAY Sports this matter can “serve as a stark warning to those who would engage in sexual abuse in fencing – no matter who you are, there will be consequences.’’