The MasterChef Australia finalist is taken into custody after being found guilty of child sexual abuse
A former swimming coach has been found guilty of 43 counts of child sexual abuse involving 11 different children.
Paul Douglas Frost was convicted Wednesday afternoon of abusing his former students at a swimming school in southwest Sydney in the 1990s and 2000s.
The NSW District Court jury had previously been instructed that they could reach majority verdicts before finding him guilty on all counts.
The 43 charges on which Frost has been convicted include several charges of sexual intercourse with a child under his custody or care, multiple charges of aggravated assault against a person under 16, and grooming children for sexual activity.
Former Sydney swim coach and Masterchef contestant Paul Douglas Frost has been found guilty of all child sexual abuse charges. Photo: Gaye Gerard/NCA Newswire
A juror entered the witness stand to tell the court that they had not reached unanimous verdicts and would not do so on Wednesday before the judge said she would deliver a majority verdict.
“It is preferable that your verdict be unanimous,” said Judge Sarah Huggett, before the guilty verdicts returned hours later.
The nine men and three women will be able to request to have their names removed from jury duty due to the length of the trial, the judge told jurors as they were dismissed, thanking them for giving up months of their time to act. sit the case.
Due to the length of the indictment, Frost and the jury spokesman were allowed to sit while the verdicts were returned.
He was handcuffed and taken into custody after the jury’s dismissal and will hear a sentencing in August.
In a previous trial, the jury was dismissed after 16 days without a verdict due to allegations of bullying and refusal to consider a judge fearful of affecting the outcome.
Frost was once a finalist on the cooking competition show MasterChef and his father coached Olympic champion Ian Thorpe.