Queensland sports coaches who faced court in 2022 revealed
From sexual predators, jaw-breakers and bomb threats – these are the Queensland sports coaches who faced court over a variety of offences in 2022. SEE THE LIST
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Sexual attacks on teenagers, rape, breaking the jaw of a police officer and threatening to blow up a bakery – these were just some of the shocking crimes heard in court by Queensland coaches in 2022.
Children, teens and their parents place their trust in a sports coach to act appropriately and ensure they focus on training and development.
It appears a few across the state have failed in that regard, instead opting to take advantage of this trust and commit devious acts, leaving the victims, often young, with long-lasting psychological damage.
Here we take a look at Queensland sports coaches who disgraced themselves in court during 2022.
CONVICTIONS RECORDED
JUSTIN SHANE CHAPMAN – JUNIOR RUGBY COACH
There were tears in Gympie District Court on June 22 last year as the 33-year-old junior rugby coach was sentenced over a physical and sexual attack on a group of teens on the Cooloola Coast in 2020.
Justin Shane Chapman pleaded guilty to three charges of sexual assault, one charge of assault occasioning bodily harm and six charges of common assault, all relating to a drunken incident at Teewah Beach in September, 2020.
Chapman was the second man to be dealt for the incident, after his co-accused Joel Andrew Kenneth Murray pleaded guilty to two counts of common assault and one of going armed to cause fear.
The court heard Chapman and Murray were travelling along Teewah Beach on the evening of September 23, 2020, when they came across a group of 20 teenagers camping.
The court heard the men joined the teenagers at their campsite but quickly outstayed their welcome when Chapman made unwanted sexual advances towards some of the teens.
Both men were drunk at the time.
The court heard nine of the teens were assaulted during their visit, including a 17-year-old girl whose chest Chapman touched inappropriately with a beer bottle and asked “do you like that?”.
He then squeezed her bottom and inappropriately touched her between her shorts and underwear.
He later grabbed the crotch of an 18-year-old boy and asked if he was “sleeping with the boys later on” and went on to inappropriately touch two more boys, grab the bottom of another boy, force a kiss on an 18-year-old girl’s cheek and another kiss onto a separate 18-year-old girl sitting in a camp chair.
The court heard Chapman forced himself onto her, and pushed his tongue into her mouth.
Chapman also punched one of the boys he inappropriately touched when he was asked to leave and a fight broke out.
Chapman was sentenced to 21 months behind bars, suspended for three years.
He was also placed on three years’ probation for the assault occasioning bodily harm charge.
LUKE JAIDEN HOMBSCH – BMX COACH
A trusted BMX coach from Redlands was charged with disturbing child sex offences after a court heard he arranged for his young victim to come to his home and also once picked her up from school.
Mount Cotton dad Luke Jaiden Hombsch, 27, pleaded guilty in district court on February 11, 2022, to one count of carnal knowledge of a child under 16 and five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.
The court heard Hombsch met his child victim when she was 12.
His relationship with the girl became increasingly personal at age 14 when they started talking over social media in mid-2019 and exchanged naked pictures of each other.
Hombsch arranged to meet the girl to have sex at his home on August 4, 2019.
The court heard on two further occasions she performed oral sex on him in a public place and he also picked her up after school once and she performed oral sex on him in his car.
The court heard Hombsch cut-off contact with the girl in late November 2019, before it resumed again in January 2020.
By that stage, the girl had told her female friend, who was 15, about their sexual relationship, and she was added to a group chat with them.
In the group chat, Hombsch asked the girls to send him some “sexy photos” and sent a photo holding his erect penis to both girls, along with four videos of himself masturbating.
The 15-year-old friend told her mother about Hombsch’s relationship with the complainant, and the mother made a formal complaint to the police.
Hombsch was given an 18-month sentence of imprisonment, to be suspended for three years, after serving a period of 6 months.
SEAN PATRICK LYNCH – GOLFING MIND COACH
A little girl, whose promising golf career was destroyed after she was sexually abused by a mind coach to some of Australia’s best athletes, bravely stared down her attacker as he was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
Sean Patrick Lynch, 68, was found guilty of the “horrid and depraved” treatment of the teenager who had been an “extraordinary talent” on the golf course with a bright future before the sickening abuse.
The court heard Lynch used his skills as a mind coach to manipulate the girl into a sexual relationship by claiming it would help with her golf game.
Such was his control of the girl that in a police-recorded phone call, in which she confronted him about the abuse, Lynch managed to have her apologising for his own sickening conduct by the end of the conversation.
The top mind coach to sporting stars, including former world No.1 golfer Jason Day, was slammed by Judge Vicki Loury KC as a remorseless, narcissistic and manipulative man who had grossly breached the trust of the girl and her family.
Lynch was found guilty of seven charges, including five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 under care and one count of grooming, after a 10-day trial in September last year.
On November 4, 2022, he was sentenced to three years imprisonment, suspended for five years after he has served 18 months behind bars.
Lynch’s offending, included having the girl masturbate him, kissing and touching her at locations including a park and a prestigious golf club’s office, licking her stomach, making her watch pornography and sending her illicit images.
“He talked to her about doing things with him would help with her golf, he suggested he needed to teach her how to kiss, how to suck d***, how to f*** properly, and this whole thing kept coming along about how that would assist with her golf,” Crown Prosecutor Chris Cook said.
Lynch could not be sentenced for the worst of the conduct against the girl because it happened in New South Wales.
On that occasion he put his finger in her vagina and had her perform oral sex on him.
JAMES BORTHWICK – SURFING COACH
A surf school operator wasn’t sentenced to time behind bars despite filming a teenage boy while he showered.
James “Jamo” Borthwick, who also worked with Surf Life Saving Queensland, made the 14-minute video without the teen’s knowledge.
The video was only discovered when Border Force seized Borthwick’s phone when he returned from the United Kingdom in November, 2021.
He claimed he has no idea why he made the recording in July, 2021.
The 47-year-old burst into tears moments after pleading guilty in the Southport District Court on July 26, 2022, to one count of making child exploitation material.
When asked if he would like to comment, Borthwick started to cry and said “no”.
The court was told that after Borthwick was charged he had his authorisation to work with children suspended and his ability to coach surfing both in Australia and internationally suspended.
His work with Surf Life Saving Queensland was also suspended.
Judge Jodie Wooldridge sentenced Borthwick to seven months’ prison, to be served as an intensive correction order.
BRETT LEROY RICHARDS – CHILDREN’S SPORTS COACH
A children’s sports coach was labelled a “predator” as he was found guilty of raping and indecently treating five pre-pubescent central Queensland girls over a six-year period.
Brett Leroy Richards, 62, was found guilty of six counts of rape and 10 indecent treatment of children counts on September 20, 2022, after a 10-day trial in Rockhampton District Court.
In court Crown prosecutor Matthew Sutton said Richards’ behaviour was “predatory” and exploited the vulnerability of the victims.
He said the offending involved Richards raping three of the five girls, with five rapes being digital penetration and the sixth involving his tongue.
He said four of the indecent treatment offences involved his tongue on the girls’ genitals, five of him touching their genitals either under or over clothing and one involved touching a victim’s breasts.
Mr Sutton said one of victims testified that Richards used force in his offence, pushing her down on the bed as she tried to protest.
Judge Jeff Clarke said the court had heard evidence that Richards told a mother it was safe for children to stay over at his house as he held a Blue Card and was a children’s sports coach.
Judge Clarke sentenced Richards to nine years’ prison and declared 39 days pre-sentence custody.
RUSSELL WITHERIDGE – PERSONAL TRAINER
A fitness coach, who previously owned a fight centre on the Sunshine Coast, was busted with cocaine in his wallet after previously being convicted of trafficking.
Doonan personal trainer and Muay Thai boxing champion, Russell Phillip Witheridge, was found with white powder in his wallet that was later identified as cocaine.
The 34-year-old had previously been convicted of trafficking back in 2013 and pleaded guilty to the latest possession charge in Noosa Magistrates Court on February 22, 2022.
The court heard he had 4.2g of white powder that contained 1.5g of pure cocaine.
Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin said Witheridge must have a “dodgy dealer” but that the lesser purity of the powder had worked in his favour.
Solicitor Chelsea Emery said her client worked in the fitness industry and was the Muay Thai boxing titleholder for Queensland.
She said Witheridge had suffered multiple injuries, including a back injury and had undergone surgery on both knees.
“He used cocaine for the chronic pain and as a stress relief,” Ms Emery said.
“He has a close and loving relationship with his daughter and is concerned about how today’s proceedings will affect his family.”
According to Witheridge’s social media, he also ran a fight centre by the name of Hustle Fight Centre that had to close in 2021 due to his health complications.
Magistrate McLaughlin sentenced Witheridge to six months’ prison suspended for two years.
NO CONVICTIONS RECORDED
RORY WAYNE URQUHART – MARTIAL ARTS COACH
A court heard how a martial arts coach kicked a police officer in the jaw during a drunken rampage and also spat all over the wall of a police cell.
Rory Wayne Urquhart, 19, pleaded guilty in Yeppoon Magistrates Court on April 7, 2022 to public nuisance, wilful damage, obstruct police, assault police and failing to surrender into custody.
The court heard the worst of Urquhart’s offending happened on December 26, 2021, when police were called to a disturbance in William Street, Yeppoon.
Senior Constable Rumford said while police were speaking with Urquhart, he yelled and swore loudly.
Some of the things Urquhart said to police was: “You c---s can’t change any of that”; “I’ve f---ing hurt no-one”; “This is all f---ed” and “I can’t call you c---s”.
Senior Constable Rumford said when Urquhart was arrested for a public nuisance offence, he was put in a police cell and spat on the walls of the cell.
Police then entered the cell and told Urquhart to put his hands behind his back.
Urquhart did not comply and was transitioned to the ground.
Senior Constable Rumford said while one of the police officers entered the cell to assist with restraining Urquhart, he kicked him in the jaw.
Magistrate Jason Schubert placed Urquhart on probation for six months with conditions and did not record a conviction.
PATRICK JAMES CARROLL – GOLF COACH
A Cooloola Cove golf coach threatened to “blow up” a local bakery after an argument over the phone with a worker.
Patrick James Carroll, 37, pleaded guilty in Gympie Magistrates Court on April 3, 2022 to two charges of using a carriage service to menace, harass or be offensive.
The court heard Carroll visited a bakery in a Cooloola Cove shopping centre around 1pm on January 29, 2022, and asked for a plain pie but none were left.
Carroll left the store only to return a short time later to buy a frozen plain pie.
Police prosecutor Michael Phillips said Carroll then called the store 15 minutes later, where he asked a staff member “how come when the main lady is not there, everything goes wrong?”.
He then asked why the young workers were in the shop alone and threatened to call the Queensland Government.
Sgt Phillips said Carroll continued to rant but the worker hung up on him only for Carroll to call back almost immediately.
The worker threatened to call police, hung up the phone and blocked Carroll’s number before he could try calling again.
But Carroll got to the police first and told them he was “about to lose himself mentally and physically”.
“The defendant demanded that police arrest the (bakery worker) or he would go down and blow the place up.,” Sgt Phillips said.
Despite the nature of the threats, Mr Callaghan ordered Carroll be placed on probation for 12 months.
No conviction was recorded.
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