Swim coach Kyle Daniels drops court costs claim after being acquitted of sexually assaulting nine girls
A swim coach acquitted of sexually assaulting nine young girls has dropped his claim for the crippling legal costs of his defense at two trials.
Kyle Daniels endured a seven-week trial in 2020 and another that lasted 10 weeks last year before the NSW Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to proceed with a third.
The 24-year-old’s legal bills over the past four years, including paying lawyers to appear in court for more than 100 days, are likely to exceed half a million dollars.
Mr Daniels was arrested in March 2019 after the parents of two girls raised concerns about his behavior at the Mosman Swim Center on Sydney’s lower north coast.
A swim coach acquitted of sexually assaulting nine young girls has dropped his legal claim for the crippling costs of his defense in two trials. Kyle Daniels was charged while working part-time at Mosman Swim Center on Sydney’s lower north coast
The then 20-year-old Sydney University student was originally charged with assaulting two students, aged six and eight, during private swimming lessons at the school.
His arrest prompted more girls to raise allegations that Mr Daniels touched their genitals between February 2018 and February 2019.
At one time, the former Knox Grammar Prefect faced 56 charges, but 33 of them were dropped in September 2019.
In his first trial, Mr. Daniels pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sexual intercourse with a child under the age of ten, nine counts of indecent assault, and six counts of intentionally sexually touching a child.
The 26 is settling charges – which included three alternative or “backup” charges – which involved nine girls aged five to 10.
A NSW District Court jury acquitted Mr Daniels of five of the most serious crimes in December 2020, but was unable to rule on the remaining 21.
A new jury acquitted Mr Daniels of 10 charges in October last year, but was dismissed after stating there was no prospect of agreement on the remaining 11 charges.
Mr Daniels was originally charged with assaulting two students aged six and eight during private swimming lessons. Hey Daniels is pictured out of court with his mother Janine
The Director of Public Prosecutions revealed in December that there would be no third trial.
Mr Daniels’ lawyer, Urania Zafiris, said at the time that the DPP’s decision was ‘completely appropriate’ and that her client would require the Crown to pay his legal fees.
“Mr Daniels has always maintained that he is innocent of all charges related to these matters,” Ms Zafiris said at the time.
“The jury verdicts and the decision to drop are a perfectly appropriate outcome consistent with that innocence.”
Mr Daniels filed an application for costs through the court on December 9, but it was withdrawn on March 13.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Zafiris to ask why the application had been withdrawn, but she did not respond.
Mr Daniel’s legal team was extremely critical of the police’s conduct of his arrest at his parents’ home in Balgowlah on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
His lawyer, Leslie Nicholls, claimed at Mr Daniels’ second trial that the arrest was staged to make it ‘more newsworthy’.
Mr Daniel’s legal team was extremely critical of the police’s conduct of his arrest at his parents’ Balgowlah home on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. His arrest is pictured above
Mr Nicholls said his client was handcuffed and ‘paraded’ down the street in front of a police media camera crew, which ‘created a negative image among the public’.
“It was agreed that he would be taken all the way down that road?” asked Mr. Nicholls in court. ‘I say yes.
‘That’s what this was about. So that the police could give that news footage to the media … with a view to an appeal for more victims.’
Mr Nicholls noted that most of the charges against Mr Daniels were brought after his arrest was aired and parents asked their children if he had touched them.
“Clearly the parents were influenced by what they saw in the media,” he said. “It all caused fear and anxiety for their children.
“Because they were so influenced, they then influenced their children the way they questioned them, educating ‘he did something bad – he hurt children’.”
“The media images… really had a practical effect on the complainants’ unreliability and influence.”
Kyle Daniel’s dad posted this photo of himself and twin sons Kyle and Liam on Sydney’s Manly beach and gushed that he had “a very happy heart.” Pure happiness and love. My boys!’
The Crown had alleged that 21 incidents spanning 13 months showed a pattern of behavior in which Mr Daniels took advantage of the students in his care for his sexual gratification.
Mr. Daniels vehemently denied ever touching a student inappropriately.
Mr Nicholls argued that the swim school parents lied and altered their evidence in an attempt to convict the instructor, after wrongly believing he had abused their daughters.
Mr Daniels told the court that while he was being arrested, some police officers called him ‘a disgusting paedo’ and joked about what would happen to him in prison.
Daily Mail Australia revealed last week that police had finally withdrawn their request for warrants for Daniels’ arrest to protect five of the girls.
Those detained force orders were finally withdrawn and rejected before a Downing Center local court magistrate on May 31.