A former Minneapolis yoga studio owner has died weeks after allegations surfaced that he sexually assaulted a girl in Canada over two decades ago.
The death of Philip Doucette, 48, was relayed in an email to studio members on Wednesday from Modo Yoga Minneapolis, where Doucette had been a co-owner.
“Our hearts are grieving as we learn of the passing of one of our former owners, Phil Doucette,” read the email.
No one from the studio responded Thursday to phone and email messages from the Star Tribune seeking information about the circumstance of Doucette’s death.
In May, Doucette was charged by Ottawa Police with sexually assaulting a girl who attended a summer camp in Canada over two decades ago.
Doucette, a Canada native, worked at the camp from roughly 1996 to 2005, according to the May 23 Ottawa Police news release. He moved to Minneapolis and opened the studio at 3252 W. Lake St. with his then-wife, Ryann Jessiman, about 12 years ago.
Doucette was “removed” as owner June 5, after the company learned of the charges, according to an email obtained from Modo Yoga International’s CEO.
Upon learning of the charges, some former students and Modo teachers posted allegations online that Doucette was inappropriate or abusive, and that they were leaving the studio.
Former teacher Callie Knoblauch posted on Facebook that Doucette was “once a friend and beloved yoga teacher.”
She also described him as a “predator and sexual abuser.”
“Phil has countless victims, most who once considered him a friend, confidant, mentor, and teacher-some considered him family,” she said in a Facebook post Thursday.
After the first Star Tribune article, Brad Sorock of Minneapolis, a current member of the studio, emailed to say others are “furious over this from the opposite side.” He described Doucette as a “phenomenal teacher” and wrote that “Nobody condones sexual assault but many disagree with the cancel culture happening to our studio for reasons we don’t believe are right.”
The studio held a gathering with mourning and meditation Thursday evening.
