Colin Geoffrey Rose found guilty of maintaining unlawful relationship with child

Grafton speedway identity Colin Geoffrey Rose has been found guilty of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child. A survivor speaks about what his conviction means to her.

The victim of sexual abuse at the hands of a Grafton speedway identity has bravely told her story, hoping it will encourage others to come forward to expose other offenders.

“I want everyone to know what he did,” Kay Rowles-Blanch said of Grafton’s Colin Geoffrey Rose.

Mrs Rowles-Blanch, aged 54 years old, said she was in court when the jury found Mr Rose guilty of maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child.

“That child was me,” she said.

“I cried, I was shaking, I was happy, I was sad.

“I felt like everybody now knows what happened and that I’m not a liar.”

Mrs Rowles-Blanch decided to talk to police in 2020 after her father died.

“I thought why should I keep this to myself,” she said

“I’ve suffered all my life, why shouldn’t he suffer?”

Kay Rowles-Blanch encourages other survivors to report their abuse.

Mrs Rowles-Blanch said the guilty verdict not only validated what she experienced but she hoped it made it easier for other survivors of sexual offending to come forward.

“It’s never too late to come forward,” she said.

Rose was in court when the jury found him guilty on February 22, 2022, before Judge Sutherland.

His bail continues without variation.

The matter is listed for sentencing on May 6 at Newcastle District Court.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Colin Geoffrey Rose raced cars at the Grafton Speedway and has been a past president of Grafton City Speedway Club. We are pleased to clarify that he no longer has any association with the speedway or its current management.