How a cartoon helped uncover alleged abuse of a Sydney swimming teacher

A mother has broken down in court over a children’s cartoon which helped uncover her daughter’s alleged abuse.

A mother has broken down in court over her daughter’s alleged abuse at the hands of former Sydney swimming teacher Kyle Daniels.

Mr Daniels is standing trial on charges of inappropriately touching nine girls at the Mosman Swim Centre between 2018 and 2019. The alleged victims were under 10 years of age at the time.

On Tuesday, the court heard from one of the alleged victim’s mothers, who broke as the court was played a video of the cartoon Pantosaurus, designed to educate children about inappropriate touching.

Her daughter had revealed her alleged abuse after being shown the video in the days following Mr Daniels’ arrest.

The trial was adjourned and jury excused by Judge Kara Shead while the mother composed herself.

The mother of one alleged victim sobbed as the court was played the anti-sexual touching educational video Pantosaurus. Picture: NSPCC

Pantosaurus is a two-minute musical video which originates in the UK, where the word pants is used to mean underwear.

It includes the lyrics, “What’s in your pants belongs only to you. Your pants cover up your private parts. Your private parts belong only to you. If someone asks to see, just tell them ‘no’.”

“To my recollection, she said her swimming teacher would … he used to touch and hold her there – and she placed her hands on her hips near her groin,” the mother said.

“I was a bit shocked. She continued to explain what he did and she moved her hands closer, further down her groin.

“She explained that he used to put his hands inside her costume.”

Former swimming teacher Kyle Daniels is on trial for allegedly sexually touching nine of his students. Picture: NCA NewsWire

The woman asked her daughter why she hadn’t told her earlier what had happened and she replied something to the effect that she had tried on one occasion.

“What was worse was the fact that she had tried to tell me what had happened,” the woman sobbed.

Prior to talking to police, the woman recalled her daughter asking her, “How do you say no to a teacher?”

“And I said, ‘You just say no’.”

Mr Daniels has 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.

The court heard the girl had asked her mother, ‘how do you say no to a teacher?’, to which she replied ‘you just say no’. Picture: Pantosaurus

Earlier in the day, the court heard the girl’s prerecorded testimony which stated Mr Daniels had touched her inappropriately in every one of their eight lessons together.

The mother later gave evidence that Mr Daniels had only taught the girl for three lessons.

The girl was placed in a level of class which had Mr Daniels as the teacher.

Both the girl and her mother believed the girl should have been placed in a higher level and the girl said it “felt like” her teacher was holding her back from advancing to a different class.

The swim school later clarified the girl had not achieved the requirements to move to a higher level.

The girl told police that in one lesson, “every time” she did freestyle and breaststroke and swam past Mr Daniels, he touched her inappropriately, the court was told. She added that he never did it while she was swimming backstroke.

The trial continues.