- Found guilty of 39 sickening acts in August verdict
- Offences included rape and indecent assault
Former elite swimming coach Dick Caine has died in hospital aged 78 just weeks after being found guilty of 39 sickening sexual offences against young female athletes who trained with him.
Caine, who once trained a number of swimmers who went on to become Olympic and world champions, was in palliative care with terminal cancer before his death on Wednesday morning.
On August 28 he was found to have committed 39 acts, including rape and indecent assault, on female members of his swimming squad aged 10 to 16 across the 1970s and 1980s.
The assaults took place at the Carss Park swimming pool in Sydney’s south, as well as at Caine’s home and in his car.
A number of the victims were virgins at the time of being raped by Caine, with one saying she had not even been kissed by a boy before.
Caine’s illness led to him being excused from answering the allegations directly in court, meaning the case was heard by way of a special hearing in lieu of a trial.
He was believed to have months to live when police arrested him in 2022.
Caine’s victims were scheduled to make their impact statements at a special hearing in December.
Former swimming coach Dick Caine (pictured) has died of cancer soon after he was found to have committed sickening acts against girls as young as 10 years old
In handing down the verdicts, NSW District Court Judge Paul McGuire said he found the evidence given by the victims was reliable despite the significant amount of time that had passed since the incidents.
‘I am satisfied that each of the elements of each of the offences has been established beyond reasonable doubt,’ he said.
Several of the victims who were in court let out sighs of relief, hugged each other and wiped away tears as the verdicts were read out.
‘We’ve done it,’ one of them said.
Judge McGuire found the coach had an interest in pre-pubescent and pubescent girls and acted on that interest, including raping a girl who was 10-years-old at the time.
The terminal cancer that prevented Caine (pictured) from testifying at his trial took his life on Wednesday morning
The court heard one of the victims held genuine Olympic and Commonwealth Games aspirations that had been dashed due to Caine’s conduct.
A number of the victims gave evidence they were scared of Caine because of his authority and coaching style.
Multiple victims reported the presence of pornography and alcohol at the coach’s home and reported seeing the accused’s horse, which prosecutors argued gave credence to their claims.
One of the victims gave a ‘graphic’ account of having her hands tied, while afterwards seeing a used condom next to the bed.
Prosecutors submitted the victim’s account was ‘so detailed and so compelling’ that it must be true.
More to come…
