Top SA cheerleader denies allegations she sexually abused seven girls, dubbing the charges ‘crazy’ and ‘sickening’

A top cheerleading coach has hit back at charges she sexually abused seven girls on 21 occasions, saying they “make me feel sick”.

A top cheerleading coach says she is “grossed out” by allegations she sexually abused seven girls more than 21 times in two years, saying the “crazy” claims “make me feel sick”.

On Wednesday, the woman – whose identity is suppressed – took the stand in the District Court to defend herself against child sex charges.

Asked by her barrister, Jane Abby KC, how she felt while listening to her alleged victims give evidence, the woman said she had been left “sad and uncomfortable”.

“I feel very, to be honest, grossed out by some of the things that they’ve said and accused me of … it makes me feel sick,” she said.

“Hearing things about me (allegedly) doing things to these children are so very difficult to hear because, yeah, it’s crazy … that’s not who I am, somebody I was or will ever be.

“These people were my friends, my close friends, people I was close to, that felt almost like family, that I spent so much time with … I’m very confused.”

The woman has pleaded not guilty to seven child sex charges that, prosecutors allege, occurred between 2015 and 2017 when she was working as a coach.

The top coach has been accused of sexually assaulting seven girls on 21 occasions. Picture: Stock image

They allege she used her charisma and renown in the sport as a “pathway” to sexually abuse the girls – four of whom were just 12 years old – more than 21 times.

Ms Abby, however, has suggested the seven alleged victims colluded at burger bars, nightclubs, parties, beach trips and overseas tours to ruin her.

In her evidence, the woman denied each of the alleged offences and said she had never been sexually attracted to females of any age.

Her “persona” in cheerleading, she said, was being “loud and funny” in order to overcome her feelings of immaturity, lack of self-confidence and issues with her body.

“I was put into the role of being ‘the funny one’, to do things that were silly and a bit outrageous … someone would put their phone up and say ‘do something funny’,” she said.

She agreed she had posed in photographs that prosecutors allege to be sexually provocative, but said that was neither her intent at the time nor how she viewed the images now.

“(In one photo) I’m with my two best friends at the time, I’m doing something silly and they’re taking a photo – that’s what I see it as,” she said.

“All the girls were like my family … I felt safe at cheer, (it was) my whole life … it was the one place where I felt like I was good at something.

“I’ve lost lots of people that were once very close friends of mine.”

The trial, before Judge Joana Fuller and in the absence of a jury, continues.