Jury split in swim teacher sexual touching trial, with no verdict for 11 charges

A jury has been unable to reach a verdict on 11 charges facing ex-swim coach Kyle Daniels over allegations he sexually touched his underage students.

A jury had been discharged without returning verdicts to more than half of the charges facing former swim instructor Kyle Daniels.

Mr Daniels faced trial over allegations he sexually touched nine underage girls on Sydney’s lower north shore between 2018 and 2019.

The jury was discharged by Judge Kara Shead on Monday after returning not guilty verdicts for 10 of the 21 charges facing Mr Daniels.

On the remaining 11 charges the jury was unable to reach a decision.

“What that means is that the trial will conclude without verdicts in relation to those counts,” Judge Shead said in discharging the jury.

No verdict was reached on six counts of sexual touching of a child under 10 years of age and five counts of the indecent assault of a person under 16.

The stalemate followed a two-month trial during which the jury heard evidence from the alleged victims and their parents.

Judge Shead said what will occur in relation to those charges was a matter for the Director of Public Prosecutions.

She noted the evidence of the complainants was prerecorded and could be replayed in any future trials.

A jury has been unable to decide whether ex-swimming instructor Kyle Daniels inappropriately touched several of his underage students. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Swift

Mr Daniels initially pleaded not guilty to five counts of sexual intercourse with a child aged under 10, eight counts of sexual touching of a child and eight counts of indecent assault, including two considered alternative charges.

Last week, Mr Daniels was found not guilty on nine of the charges he was facing.

The 24-year-old was cleared of five counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10, three counts of the indecent assault of a person under 16 and one count of the sexual touching of a child under 10 years of age.

On Monday, the jury cleared Mr Daniels of one further count of sexual touching of a child under 10 years of age.

Following difficulty by the jury to reach a unanimous decision on several of the charges, last week Judge Shead took the step of saying the court would accept a verdict by majority decision instead.

Judge Shead instructed the jury to continue deliberations with the aim of reaching a unanimous decision; however, she said the court would accept a verdict if all but one of the jury members were in agreement.

Mr Daniels was supported by his parents (pictured) throughout the two month long trial at Sydney Downing Centre District Court. Picture: NCA NewsWire/ Gaye Gerard

Mr Daniels was first arrested on March 12, 2019, at his parents’ home in Balgowlah in Sydney’s north.

Following the arrest, further victims came forward claiming to have been touched inappropriately by him.

During the trial, the court saw prerecorded evidence from the girls who recounted their experiences with Mr Daniels during classes.

Crown prosecutors alleged Mr Daniels had a sexual interest in young girls and acted on that by touching the children inappropriately.

A parent first approached venue staff about Mr Daniels’ behaviour in July 2018 following a complaint by their daughter, Mr McCarthy told the court in the opening days of the trial.

“I’m not accusing him of anything, I just wanted to raise some red flags,” the parent was quoted as saying.

“I don’t want him to lose his job over this. I don’t know if it was accidental.”

In response, pool management circulated a memo to instructors about not holding children close to the groin or chest.

Other parents who came forward prior to Mr Daniels’ arrest also had doubts as to his intentions.

The father of one of the girls told pool staff he didn’t want to “make a fuss”, as he didn’t witness the alleged abuse himself, the court was told.