Edmonton martial arts instructor charged with sexual assault

Edmonton police have charged a local martial arts instructor with sexual assaults at ATA Martial Arts School in West Edmonton.

According to police, two women — one aged 19 and one aged 25 — recently reported they were sexually assaulted by their instructor between 2015 and 2017.

Kevin Ford, 47, has owned the school since 2003, in addition to teaching martial arts. He was arrested on Thursday.

The victims told police that during several classes and individual training sessions, they experiencing sexually motivated touching from Ford. They say his actions were not consistent with martial-arts training.

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“The complainants reported that, due to Ford’s position of authority at the school, they felt pressured into situations that they were not comfortable with,” said Acting Staff Sgt. Richard Windover.

Share this on X Click to share quote on X: "The complainants reported that, due to Ford's position of authority at the school, they felt pressured into situations that they were not comfortable with," said Acting Staff Sgt. Richard Windover.

Ford faces charges of sexual exploitation as well as sexual assault.

Edmonton police released this picture of Ford “in the interest of public safety.”

“We believe that others may have information that would assist the investigation and encourage them to contact us.”