Daniel Webb: Ten pin bowling coach jailed for child sex offences

A giant of Australia’s ten pin bowling scene wept as he was told he would be spending the foreseeable future in jail for preying on a young teenage athlete.

Daniel Richard Webb arrives at court Picture: Joel Carrett

A giant of Australia’s ten pin bowling scene who used his status to prey on a teenage athlete, repeatedly offering oral sex and sending pictures of his penis, has been sentenced to jail.

Former national ten pin bowling coach Daniel Richard Webb, 29, had pleaded guilty to a series of child sex offences including indecent assault on a person under with all offences taking place between September 2017 and May 2018.

Webb held management roles at Campbelltown City Bowl.

Webb was the national ten pin bowling coach. Picture: Chris Pavlich

The agreed facts, tendered to the court, reveal Webb, of Rosemeadow in southwest Sydney, once tried to entice the victim into his room by saying “you will have fun”, before his offer for oral sex was rejected.

On another occasion, Webb was asked to massage the shoulder of the teenager which led to the elite coach pulling down the athlete’s pants and rubbing his buttocks as it was “all connected”.

On a later date, Webb sent an explicit image of his penis to the victim on Snapchat and said “it’s here for you”.

The Rosemeadow man’s barrister said Webb wasn’t a paedophile and the deviant behaviour wouldn’t have taken place if he had been treated for his undiagnosed autism and other mental illnesses.

Webb will be behind bars until late 2022. Picture: Joel Carrett

The court heard the former St Gregory’s College student had been bullied and suffered PTSD as a result of being sexually abused by a religious figure, with expert evidence tendered to the court stating this incident impacted his self-worth at an age where people experience their first romantic relationships.

Webb was highly regarded in the ten pin bowling community, coaching junior representative teams such as at the South West Sydney Academy of Sport, organising and hosting national tournaments as well as holding management positions at Campbelltown City Bowl.

In a victim impact statement delivered to the court by the victim’s father, the teenage boy revealed how he had given up the sport of ten pin bowling completely.

Judge John Pickering, in sentencing, found Webb was aware his actions were wrong despite his emotional immaturity and autism impacting his ability to pick up social cues but ruled he was a low risk of reoffending.

Webb, who cried repeatedly during the hour-long judgment, was convicted of all offences and sentenced to three years and six months prison, with a non-parole period of one year and nine months. He will be eligible for parole in September 2022.