Sunshine Coast surf coach faces explosive new child sex charges after telling court previous allegations were ‘all true’
A once-popular and respected surf coach accused of sexually assaulting children has been hit with new charges, after he told a court the existing allegations were “all true”.
A once-popular and respected Queensland surf coach accused of sexually assaulting multiple children has been hit with a fresh wave of charges, announced on Thursday after he told a court the existing allegations were “all true”.
Connor John Christopher Lyons, 26, allegedly confessed to a series of child-related offences during police interviews, with at least eight boys understood to have come forward.
A well-known Sunshine Coast surfing coach, Lyons appeared via video link for a committal hearing in the Maroochydore Magistrates Court on Thursday, where Acting Sergeant Tara Miles announced that prosecutors had laid four additional charges of indecent treatment of children under 12.
“They are of a similar nature,” Sergeant Miles said.
She said the investigating officer was “urgently” preparing a brief of evidence.
Before the new charges were announced, Magistrate Chris Callaghan asked Lyons if he would like an adjournment to seek legal advice before the hearing began, but Lyons refused.
“I’m all good thanks, all the charges on there are all true,” Lyons said.
The court was told Lyons dropped his lawyer, Bradford Hill of BJH Law, and that he would represent himself.
Lyons was first arrested in December 2024 after an investigation into alleged child sex crimes. He was initially charged with 12 counts of indecent treatment of children and three counts of wilful exposure.
Just days after being granted bail, Lyons was arrested a second time and charged with a further 14 offences. These included four counts of indecent treatment of children, two counts of grooming, two counts of making child exploitation material, two counts of using a carriage service to access child abuse material, two counts of wilful exposure, one count of possessing child exploitation material, and an additional charge of damaging evidence with intent.
The alleged offences are said to have occurred while Lyons was working in a professional capacity and reportedly involved at least four boys, two under the age of 16 and two under 12.
The new charges mentioned on Thursday relate to four additional boys.
He was refused bail after his second arrest and remains in custody.
Court documents tendered during his second bail application outlined allegations stemming from an investigation from the Noosa Child Protection Investigation Unit, where officers allegedly located a laptop containing a secure file-sharing program. Internet search history reportedly included searches for child exploitation material.
Police further allege Lyons filmed his own offending and stored the material on an external hard drive. An analysis of his laptop reportedly uncovered links to child exploitation literature and a video of a naked child getting changed.
Lyons admitted to accessing child exploitation material on a frequent basis since his teenage years, including as recently as December 2024.
He allegedly confessed to deleting the footage after being released on bail.
Bail objection documents stated Lyons allegedly told police he would “get off” or masturbate to the material and videos.
An analysis of his laptop reportedly uncovered links to child exploitation literature, with police alleging Lyons also admitted to offending against children during a trip to China.
He allegedly admitted to exposing himself to children on multiple occasions, reportedly telling detectives he did so to “see if they were interested” and to “desensitise” them.
When asked if he believed his actions were grooming, he allegedly replied, “yes”.
Lyons, who previously ran a surf school and had more than 9,000 followers on Instagram before his account was removed, has yet to formally enter pleas.
However, he has indicated an intention to plead guilty to all charges except the four most recent, pending a review of the brief of evidence.
The matter was adjourned until May 12.
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