The trial of a former Brown summer camp fencing coach who allegedly sexually assaulted a camper in 2012, originally scheduled for today, may be postponed because his whereabouts are unknown.
No department is actively pursuing Gustavo Ducuing at this time, according to multiple sources within the Providence Police Department, Rhode Island Attorney General’s Office and Superior Court.
Ducuing was arrested in July 2012 after allegedly assaulting and exposing himself to a 14-year-old fencing student at a University summer camp. He is being charged with second-degree sexual assault and assault, the Associated Press reported.
After Ducuing failed to show up in court for a hearing in May 2013, a fugitive warrant was issued. The warrant is still active, meaning Ducuing’s location is unknown, said Amy Kempe, a spokesperson for the Rhode Island Attorney General.
Ducuing’s trial was originally scheduled for today, but Kempe said it is unlikely he will show up.
“The (prosecution) is prepared to go forward with the case ... (but) the trial can’t proceed without the defendant,” Kempe said.
If Ducuing comes into contact with law enforcement officers, whether through a traffic stop — the likeliest possibility — or due to another incident, he will be arrested, Kempe said. Anyone with information on his whereabouts should contact the police, she added.
The incident allegedly occurred during a private lesson at Ducuing’s apartment. The victim told police she “became nervous when Gustavo locked and double bolted the door,” according to the police report, WPRI News reported in May. He “asked (the victim) to take her shirt off to get a better look at her posture,” the report stated. He then allegedly touched her inappropriately, the Providence Journal reported.
Since the incident, the University has changed its summer camp policies, though administrators did not say whether the incident and policy changes were directly connected.
The Office of Continuing Education took over camp planning and policies in the summer of 2013, wrote Mark Nickel, University interim director of news and communication, in an email to The Herald. Previously, sports camps were run by their respective coaches, he said in an interview.
The Office of Continuing Education now oversees all hiring. “Careful selection by those who know the position descriptions and can identify talented people is followed by background checks as standard procedure,” wrote Karen Sibley MAT’81 P’07 P’12, dean of Continuing Education, in an email to The Herald.
Before this change, “I don’t think ‘standard procedure’ was a part of the situation. Camps were more like many small enterprises,” Sibley wrote.
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