Bateau Bay: Ex-hockey star and tree lopper Joshua Thomas Keith Coonan jailed for sex with 14yo

A former field hockey player and tree lopper has been jailed for having sex with a minor after his victim came forward more than a decade later. Full details here.

Joshua Coonan, 36, was sentenced to a minimum of 21 months jail for seven counts of having sex with a minor. Photo: NSW Police.

A former hockey player and professional tree lopper told a young girl they could only see each other in secret until she turned 16 or he would “go to jail”, a court has heard.

Joshua Thomas Keith Coonan, 36, of Bateau Bay, faced Gosford District Court on Tuesday where he was jailed for three years and six months, with a non-parole period of 21 months, after being convicted of having sex with a child.

Coonan, who represented the Central Coast in field hockey, faced trial last year charged with 15 counts of having sexual intercourse with a person aged between 14 and 16.

In September a jury found him guilty of seven offences and not guilty of the remaining eight counts and he was taken into custody.

On Tuesday Judge Tanya Bright outlined a series of facts the jury established “beyond reasonable doubt” including that Coonan initiallt invited the victim to his Bateau Bay home for a swim in 2012.

Coonan represented the Central Coast at NSW hockey titles. (File image)

He then started messaging her on Facebook telling her she had “one of the best bodies I have seen” before their relationship became physical.

The court heard one of Coonan’s mates “had an alarmed look on his face” when he discovered how young the girl really was.

Coonan was sentenced in Gosford District Court on Tuesday. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

By September the pair had sex at his house but the girl felt she was just “being used”.

He messaged her and said “what do you mean” You’re beautiful, I love spending time with you”.

“You’re my girl, you’re so beautiful,” he later messaged her.

In one exchange the pair discussed his upcoming birthday and he said “eww I’m so old” and later “so I’ve got 10 years and 18 days on you lol”.

Coonan played hockey for The Entrance

And was a Nipper for Shelly Beach. (Picture: Peter Clark)

In late 2012 the victim was using her mother’s mobile phone to look at Facebook when she left her profile open and her mum started going through her messages.

The victim’s mother went to police but the girl initially told officers she didn’t know Coonan, who later messaged her again telling her to delete everything because he was getting “death threats”.

Coonan (second right) was one of four brothers who played for The Entrance including Matthew, Sam (deceased), and Daniel with their mother Jenny. (File image)

The court heard no further action was taken until a decade later in 2021 when the girl, who had since become an adult, went to police and said she was “ready to make a statement”.

In a statement read out to the court in December, the victim said she was a “happy, bright bubbly” child before she was abused by Coonan, which left her with lifelong psychological problems.

“I grieve the little girl and the woman I could have been, if this had never happened,” she wrote in her victim impact statement.

“He was a grown man, an adult, who took advantage of a vulnerable little girl. He manipulated, groomed, coerced, persuaded and sexually assaulted me on more than one occasion. I will never get back what he took from me.

“I blamed myself for the offender getting into trouble. The offender told me on several different occasions that if anyone found out, or if I told anyone, he would go to jail.”

Judge Bright said while the girl had been a willing participant in the sexual acts at the time, it was “implicit” in the charge “there’s a certain level of exploitation with all child victims”.

“It is clear to the court the devastating impact on the life trajectory of the victim,” Judge Bright said.

“She has done what a number of victims have not been able to do (in coming forward).”

Coonan will be eligible for release on June 5 next year.