John Walter Cattle, 83, quit job as Canberra Tennis coach after first accusation of child sex offending
A former Canberra tennis club coach quit his job when he was first accused of molesting a girl in the 1980s, a court has heard.
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A former Canberra tennis coach accused of molesting two girls in the 1980s resigned from his coaching gig when first confronted by one of his alleged victim’s father, a court has heard.
John Walter Cattle, 83, has pleaded not guilty to a string of indecent assault and indecency charges stemming from allegations he molested two girls at the Forrest Tennis Club.
The ACT Supreme Court on Monday heard Cattle was confronted by the family of his second alleged victim.
The club’s then-president, Reginald Payne, told the court he knew the family of the alleged victim well.
Mr Payne told the court the girl’s father was visibly upset when he told of the claim Cattle had interfered with his daughter.
“I could see they were all upset,” Mr Payne said.
Mr Payne said the girl did not talk directly to him about it.
“She was just a little girl,” he said.
“She was just a child, (the father) did all the talking.
“My attitude was it was something I couldn’t handle.”
Mr Payne said Cattle denied the allegations at the time.
“He just denied it, that’s about all you can do” he said.
“My job was to placate the whole situation.”
Mr Payne said he tried to “just placate it as much as I could”.
After the meeting, Cattle resigned.
The prosecution case is that Cattle kissed the girl with his tongue and rubbed his hands all over her body, including her breasts.
The girl was immediately upset and told her parents, but was too embarrassed to tell them Cattle had also touched her genitals.
Expert witness Dr Catherine Sansum told the court children rarely disclose being the victim of a sex offence at the time of the offending.
“Delayed disclosure is more common than disclosure at the time of the offending,” Dr Sansum said.
She said some children feel embarrassed or “to some degree responsible” for what has happened.
Monday marked the final day of evidence in the case against Cattle, crown prosecutor Keegan Lee said.
The trial, before Justice Helen Murrell and a jury, continues.