Kyle Daniels, the 20-year-old Australian swim instructor accused of sexually assaulting young girls, is now being faced with 36 child sex charges after a tenth victim came forward last month.
Further reading:
- 20-year-old Sydney swim instructor charged with sex abuse (March 21)
- 9th alleged victim comes forward against former Sydney swim instructor (April 9)
Daniels was arrested in early March and accused of sexually touching and having sexual intercourse with a child under the age of 10. Those original charges revolved around two girls, one eight years old and the other six. Police said the abuse happened while Daniels was giving the girls swim lessons.
As more victims were discovered, the list of charges grew. As of early April, Daniels was charged with 35 sex abuse charges with nine alleged victims. Now, News.com.au reports that a tenth victim has come forward, bringing the total charges to 36. Daniels is accused of having sexual intercourse with a seven-year-old girl eight times within a three-week period. His charges include sexual intercourse with a child under 10, intentionally sexually touching a child under 10 and the indecent assault of a person under 16.
News.com.au reports that Daniels is the son of a “prominent advertising executive.”
Daniels’ attorney says Daniels denies all of the allegations against him.
36 and 9??? Let the wheels of justice turn, but if this is true, this is completely awful. You were entrusted with the care and instruction of young folk and you just could not do your job. You failed – BIG time.
You say let the wheels of justice turn . . Then you procede to find him guilty & admonish him .
If his family has money then they will hire a QC & battle the state lawyers . There will be a judge & a jury whom I am sure will put in a solid effort ..
You don’t get that many accusations if you are innocent, please.
Is there no way to screen these folks better? Can you imagine being the parent of a seven year old girl who signed her up for something as wholesome as swimming lessons and wind up having her scarred for life?
There is, psychological screening became mandatory after the last wave of problems in the Catholic Church and would be a good direction for governing bodies to go. USA Swimming has been resistant to this idea (which I proposed to people in the Safe Sport office some 10 years ago!) likely because it would increase their oversight and potential liability, as well as some structural changes that may need to be introduced. Still, if it helps save a child, its certainly worthy to consider.
Thank you for this. The frequency with which this type of thing happens is soul numbing. Easy for me to say I guess but whatever the cost of putting better procedures in place is justified.
You are required to have a working with children check to be able to work in any profession with children in Australia. As this swim instructor was relatively young it is likely that there was no previous record of them having done any form of harm to a child previously.
Its a rough estimate that only 10% of children who are abused actually say something, and that even less than that have the abusers face any kind of legal consequences that would show up on a background check. Background checks are convenient for policy, but probably the least effective form of intervention.