A jury has heard that a former private schoolboy swimming coach sexually attacked and inappropriately touched nine young girls during courses in 2018 and 2019.
Kyle James Henk Daniels is charged with 21 counts of improper behavior with female children under the age of 10 while working as a part-time swim teacher on Sydney’s north coast.
Tony McCarthy told a District Court jury on Monday, “The Crown’s case is that the accused had a sexual interest in young girls and that he acted on it by touching the vaginas of nine young females.”
The 23-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty to the allegations, faces a retrial in Sydney’s Downing Centre for allegedly caressing females on the outside of their swimming costumes and invading their vaginas with his fingers on five different occasions.
The jury heard that the alleged offenses happened while the girls were being coached in or around the pool.
The swim school received two complaints against him, one in July 2018 and the second in February 2019.
After the second occurrence, a formal complaint was filed with the Department of Family and Community Services and the NSW Police were alerted.
On March 12, 2019, police came upon Daniels’ home in a well publicized arrest.
The swim school notified the parents of its kids the next day to inform them of the arrest and charges.
The email spurred several parents to lodge complaints against Daniels.
It felt as if a worm was in her private region. His fingers entered into her private portion. It was rather painful when he did it,’ Mr. McCarthy told the jury, recalling what one girl told police.
Another child said that her swim instructor held her in an unusual way as she practiced freestyle in the water.
Mr. McCarthy said that she found the situation to be really unsettling and bizarre.
Daniels apparently denied any wrongdoing when first alerted of the accusations, claiming that any contact might have been accidental.
The court heard that he promised in August 2018 to utilize a less hands-on teaching approach in his lessons.
The trial continues before Judge Kara Shead.