Washington, June 26: A hotshot tennis star who teaches teens at a Weymouth private club has been charged with raping a female high school student who took private lessons from him, the Herald has learned.
Louis Desmarteaux, a 24-year-old college tennis champ who was the only American in this year’s amateur Australian Open, is still teaching at the family-oriented Weymouth Club, despite facing charges he repeatedly raped and sexually assaulted a 15-year-old girl last year, according to prosecutors and a source close to the situation.
Desmarteaux and his lawyer did not return messages, nor did club owners Sally and Steve Goldman. Desmarteaux’s girlfriend, reached at their Hull apartment, declined to comment.
Desmarteaux pleaded not guilty in April to two counts of statutory rape and 40 counts of indecent assault and battery on a person over 14. He was freed on $2,000 cash bail and was ordered to abide by a restraining order barring him from any contact with the victim or her family, said David Traub, spokesman for Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating.
Desmarteaux, who is originally from Ottawa, also had to surrender his passport.
Prosecutors sought to block Desmarteaux from working or volunteering with kids under 18 and wanted officials to notify parents of his clients of the charges. But both requests were denied, Traub said.
Judge Mary Dacey White ruled that he could “conduct his business in public” if supervised, Traub said. He is due back in court next month.
Desmarteaux was an under-16 champion in Canada who went on to be a star tennis player at St. John’s University, winning several major college tournaments. In November, he qualified for the 2009 Australian Open Amateur Tennis Championship, which was part of the Australian Open Grand Slam pro tourney held in Melbourne. He was one of just 16 amateurs in the tourney.
“It’s always nice to represent your country and know you’re the only guy going,” Desmarteaux told The Boston Globe in November. “From a playing standpoint, I’m more mature than ever. I’m just hoping to learn from my experience over there.”
The blond, mop-topped tennis instructor has also played in televised tournaments in Africa but told the Globe that tendonitis in his shoulder has prevented him from going pro.
“They say your best tennis comes between the ages of 25 and 30,” he said. “I certainly hope so.”