One of Australia’s top singing coaches tried to prank a young student he sexually abused, according to shady new texts.
Famed singing coach David Jaanz, 62, pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in April to sexual offenses relating to an incident that took place in 2023.
Described as the ‘Master Coach’, Jaanz has mentored celebrities and winners of singing competitions The Voice, Australia’s Got Talent, X Factor and Australian Idol.
Jaanz, who has mentored stars including Delta Goodrem and Matt Corby, sexually assaulted a female student associated with his now closed music academy in Oakleigh, in Melbourne’s south-east.
He launched his attack under the guise of teaching her a “relaxation technique” intended to help her with performance anxiety.
But texts between the teacher and his victim have exposed the horror of his actions.
Famed singing coach David Jaanz (pictured), 62, pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court in April to sexual offenses relating to an incident that took place in 2023
Jaanz, who has mentored stars including Delta Goodrem and Matt Corby, sexually assaulted a female student associated with his now-closed music academy in Oakleigh, in Melbourne’s southeast (photo: text messages between Jaanz and the student he abused )
“You unbuttoned my pants and rubbed my legs way too close to my genitals,” the woman wrote, according to messages she shared with the Herald Sun.
“And you touched my chest and ignored me when I recoiled in obvious discomfort.
“I’ve been frozen all week and pretended it didn’t happen, but it did.”
At one point, Jaanz reportedly ordered her to lie on the floor, telling her that the “exercise” was necessary to “break her limits” to improve her performance.
Jaanz only stopped when he heard that the student had her period.
When Jaanz was confronted about his actions via text message, he tried to prank her.
“Done in innocence would never have hurt you or moved you forward. Never. You know that. Never,” he wrote.
He said his “heart was broken” and lamented that he felt he had lost someone he “loved dearly.”
He claimed he learned the ‘relaxation technique’ at the National Theater and that it was about ‘confidence and pushing boundaries’.
“I would never have hurt you or broken your test,” he replied.
“I’m sorry you took it the wrong way and I’m sorry I upset you.”
The woman, who was coached by Jaanz from a young age, told the newspaper that she saw him as a father figure and trusted him.
Described as a ‘Master Coach’, Jaanz has mentored superstars including Delta Goodrem and Matt Corby, along with winners and contestants from TV shows The Voice, Australian Idol, Australia’s Got Talent and X Factor (photo Delta Goodrem with David and Lynn Jaanz)
The Jaanz International Singing Academy, which coaches hundreds of aspiring singers at studios in Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne, closed abruptly last month
But she believes she was groomed by him for his own sickening purposes.
“He knew how ambitious I was and set things up in such a way that he was the key to our success in the music industry,” she told the newspaper.
‘He was so powerful. All his students consistently win TV shows (The Voice, Australian Idol) and are sent to the US – that’s where all Australian singers want to go.
‘He used that power. That day he knew what he wanted to do and thought he had manipulated me enough to do it.”
The Jaanz International Singing Academy, which coaches hundreds of aspiring singers, had studios in Sydney, Brisbane and seven in Melbourne, including Box Hill, Camberwell, Croydon, Keysborough, Oakleigh, Narre Warren and Mornington.
But the singing school was abruptly closed last month after his conviction, leaving hundreds of students and several teachers in the lurch.
Jaanz was given a two-year good behavior bond and ordered to pay $5,000 to the court fund – a punishment his victim described as a “slap on the wrist.”