Former swim instructor Kyle Daniels acquitted of several charges, including sexual contact

Former swim teacher Kyle Daniels has been acquitted of several charges related to allegations that he sexually touched nine underage girls on Sydney’s North Shore between 2018 and 2019.

A jury on Thursday found the 24-year-old Daniels not guilty of five of the 21 counts facing him.

The jury remains undecided on the remaining charges and will continue deliberations.

Daniels was acquitted of three counts of having sex with a child under the age of 10, one count of lewdly assaulting a person under the age of 16, and one count of sexually contacting a child under the age of 10.

Daniels faces two counts of having sex with a child under the age of 10, seven counts of sexual contact with a child, and seven counts of lewd assault, two of which are believed to be separate charges.

The partial verdict follows a two-month trial in which evidence submitted by the girl and her parents was screened by Mr. Daniels’ defense team.

Mr. Daniels is said to have inappropriately touched the top or bottom of the girls’ swimsuits while assisting or correcting the stroke.

Daniels has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

Attorney Leslie Nichols argued that the potentially inappropriate contact during the lesson may have been “inadvertent.”

In his closing remarks, Nicholls added that much of the evidence was seriously flawed and could be attributed to the influence of the girls’ parents.

Mr Daniels was first arrested on 12 March 2019 at his parents’ home in Balgoura, north of Sydney.

After his arrest, further victims emerged who claimed he had touched them inappropriately.

During the trial, the court saw pre-recorded evidence from girls who recounted their experiences with Mr. Daniels during class.

“I felt like a bug when he did it,” one of the girls told her parents, adding, “I had my legs so tight for the rest of the lesson that he could never do it again.” ‘He said. .

Several girls reported trying to avoid Mr. Daniels’ stroke correction because they found it uncomfortable.

Another alleged victim told police she thought Daniels accidentally touched her because she didn’t understand another motive.

“He accidentally touched a part of me that you weren’t allowed to. He did it twice,” she told police.

“Maybe he did it by accident because he wanted to do it on purpose.”

In July 2018, McCarthy told the court on the first day of the trial that the parent first approached venue staff about Daniels’ behavior after receiving a complaint from his daughter.

“I’m not blaming him for anything. I just wanted to issue a warning,” the parent was quoted as saying.

“I don’t want him to lose his job over this. I don’t know if it’s a coincidence.”

In response, pool management circulated a note to instructors about keeping children away from the groin and chest.

The court heard that other parents who came forward before Daniels’ arrest also had doubts about his intentions.

The father of one of the girls told pool staff he didn’t witness the alleged abuse himself, so he “didn’t want to make a fuss.”