Dublin ex-swimming coach who set up camera to 'spy' on girls as they changed is jailed for three years
A former swimming coach who set up a camera in his office to “effectively spy” on young girls as they changed has been jailed for three years for sexual exploitation and producing child abuse materials.
Her revelation led to a garda investigation and ultimately the discovering of videos on Coward’s electronic devices. Throughout the videos, young girls would come and try on “swimming skins”. During this time, the girl's genital and anal regions were visible. At the end of the video, Coward was seen returning to the room and stopping the video.
She said Coward had "violated both their privacy and trust" before she said a headline sentence of six years was warranted in relation to the charges of sexual exploitation and five years in relation to the production of child abuse material. The girl noticed a phone propped up in Coward's office and was worried that it may have recorded her. This particular type of swimwear can take up to 20 minutes to put on. She also told her father that other swimmers tried on “skins” in his office over the past number of weeks. Coward used chairs to section off part of his office for the girls to change in.
Two of the three girls wrote victim impact statements, which were read to the court by Gda Sgt Behan. The first girl said: “From the moment I found the camera, my life changed.” She said she is “constantly afraid that he is trying to find me”. The court heard that Coward was arrested on May 3, 2022, for child exploitation. He was detained and interviewed on several occasions. Mr Condon said the maximum sentence for child exploitation is life in prison, with 14 years the maximum for the production of child pornography.
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