After more than four years, the legal saga of Australian swim instructor Kyle Daniels officially came to a close on May 31.
Daniels, who was first arrested and charged in February 2019 while being accused of sexually abusing underage girls, had his legal battle end after prosecutors withdrew applications for a series of apprehended violence orders earlier this year.
At one point, Daniels faced up to 59 charges, though 33 were dropped before his initial trial. He underwent two trials, pleading not guilty to all charges and denying any wrongdoing.
In November 2020, he was acquitted of five charges, and after five more were dropped in October 2022, the remaining 16 were dismissed this past December.
Daniels’ now-dropped charges stemmed from accusations that he sexually touched nine young girls while working as a swim instructor in Mosman, a northern suburb of Sydney, Australia, in 2018 and 2019.
The decision to drop the remaining charges in December came after a jury found Daniels not guilty of 10 counts against him, including charges of sexual intercourse with a child under 10. The jury was unable to reach a verdict on six counts of sexual touching of a child and five counts of indecent assault.
A second jury was unable to reach a verdict on all charges.
The Director of Public Prosecutions opted not to take further legal action against Daniels, electing not to pursue a third trial.
The four-year saga came to a close on May 31, as five applications for apprehended violence orders were dismissed in Downing Centre Local Court.
Daniels’ legal bills reportedly exceeded half a million dollars (AUD), and put in a claim requesting the Crown to cover them. His lawyer was also highly critical of the way the case was portrayed in the media, and said his arrest was “staged” to make it more newsworthy.
