An Australian swim instructor has been cleared of some of the sexual abuse charges he’s facing while the jury remains split on others.
Kyle Daniels, accused of sexually touching nine young girls while teaching swimming lessons at the Mosman Swim Centre in New South Wales between 2018 and 2019, was acquitted of five sexual abuse charges on Thursday, according to the Australian Associated Press (AAP).
A District Court jury found Daniels not guilty of three counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10, one alternate count of indecent assault and one count of sexual touching.
The acquittals relate to alleged conduct against two students.
Daniels, who turns 24 this month, still faces 16 charges of which the jurors could not find a consensus.
He is accused of the alleged genital touching of female students, then aged six to 10, on the outside of their swimming suits on 14 occasions, along with two counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10.
Judge Kara Shead said she would provide the jury with further direction on Friday.
Daniels pleaded not guilty to all charges and denies ever intentionally touching any student inappropriately.
The Crown has said the commonality between the girls’ accounts of the alleged events is no coincidence and claims Daniels took the opportunity to act on sexual attraction to the girls during lessons.
Daniels was arrested in February 2019 and at one point faced up to 59 charges, though 33 were dropped before his initial trial. In November 2020, he was acquitted on five of those charges, and with the latest acquittal on Thursday, his count now sits at 16.