Sexual touching trial of former swim instructor Kyle Daniels draws to close

The trial of former swimming instructor Kyle Daniels has wrapped up with a jury set to deliberate on a verdict.

The trial of former swim teacher Kyle Daniels is set to wrap up after over two months of evidence into his alleged touching of young girls.

A jury is set to begin deliberating on a verdict from Tuesday, following a summarising of the case and legal directions by Judge Kara Shead.

Mr Daniels, 24, is accused of sexually touching nine girls who were in his classes at Mosman Swimming Centre on Sydney’s North Shore between 2018 and 2019.

He 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.

Crown prosecutors alleged as part of their case that Mr Daniels had a sexual interest in young girls and acted on that interest for his own gratification.

Mr Daniels’ defence team argued the alleged touching lasted only a few seconds at a time and may have been inadvertent on his part during the course of regular swimming lessons in which he would assist the girls and correct their technique.

A jury is set to retire to deliberate on a verdict in the trial of ex-swim teacher Kyle Daniels. Picture: NCA Newswire

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

The arrest followed complaints from several girls in his class who claimed he had either touched them on or near their private parts, or inserted his fingers inside them.

One of the girls told her parents it “felt like a worm when he did it” and that she had “squeezed her legs together for the rest of the lesson so he couldn’t do it again,” Crown prosecutor Tony McCarthy told the court.

Following his arrest, further victims came forward claiming to have been touched inappropriately by Mr Daniels who at the time was 20 years old and working at the swim centre while he attended university.

Judge Kara Shead wrapped up the more than two month trial on Tuesday with a summary of the case and legal directions for the jurors. Picture: NCA Newswire

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

Several of the girls reported trying to avoid having their stroke corrected by him as it made them feel uncomfortable.

Another of the alleged victims told police she thought Mr Daniels had touched them by accident as she couldn’t understand another motive.

“He accidentally touched my part that you’re not allowed to. He did it twice,” she told police.

“He might have just done it by accident. Because why would he want to do it on purpose?”

Defence barrister Leslie Nichols picked apart evidence given by the complainants and their parents, arguing they may have been influenced by the widely publicised and “abhorrent” nature of the allegations.

The jury is expected to return a verdict in the coming days.