uk athletics uka has placed a lifetime ban on former coach john lees after finding him guilty of sexual touching and other inappropriate behaviour toward athletes the governing body said on thursdaylees who coached athletes who represented britain at senior level had appealed against a fiveyear sanction issued in february but an independent appeal committee of uka on thursday found him guilty of five charges an additional two charges were admitted by lees who was based in edinburghaccording to the uka statement the panel found lees guilty of massaging an athlete who was under 18 and abusing her by repeatedly touching her breast area and buttocks in 2018he was also found guilty of making a sexualised comment to a female athlete while stretching her lower body causing her fear and alarm at the end of 2013 or early 2014the charges also included administering chiropractic adjustments when not qualified to do so between 2009 and last year and of causing injury to an athlete by doing so in 2016lees also admitted two further charges that he had massaged an athlete at his home address when she was under 18 and of making sexualised comments to athletes in his training groupannouncing its decision to permanently withdraw leess uka coaching licence the panel said in a statement we are left with the view that lees habitually behaved inappropriately had disregard for the rules and as we have already noted had no idea of boundariesscottish crosscountry champion mhairi maclennan who waived her anonymity as one of lees accusers in a telegraph sport interview in may said it was the end of a very long journeyim immensely proud of all the athletes that have spoken up in this case i hope that our story helps to change the narrative and set a precedent that athletes will no longer suffer in silence maclennan said