EXCLUSIVE Convicted child molester and former golf mentor Sean Lynch is hit with new child sex offences - just one year after his release from jail
Lynch, 71, was once known as the 'King of the Kids' for his work coaching junior athletes, including former world No. 1 Jason Day.
But in his role as a mentor in Queensland, Lynch groomed and abused a gifted young girl, telling her it would help her performance on the green.
Lynch kissed and touched the girl and made her perform vile sex acts on him, in what Crown prosecutor Chris Cook described as 'abhorrent and depraved conduct... for his sick, selfish sexual gratification'.
The offending in 2018 and 2019 left the young girl deeply traumatised and no longer able to play golf, despite her extraordinary talent.
Lynch showed no remorse at his 2022 trial and pleaded not guilty to 11 charges. He was eventually found guilty of seven.
The former mentor was sentenced to three years in jail but only served 18 months, as the rest of the sentence was suspended for five years.
Now, only a year after he was released, Lynch has been arrested and charged with two counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 14-16.
They relate to alleged offending against a girl Lynch knew between 2017 and 2019 in the Murwillumbah area, north of Byron Bay.
Lynch was arrested on Thursday after attending Tweed Heads Police Station.
He appeared in Tweed Heads Court later that day and was granted conditional bail after an unnamed person lodged a $10,000 surety.
The conditions included that he must surrender his Irish passport and not enter any point of departure from Australia, according to court documents.
He was also not to communicate with his alleged victim or her father, or to have any contact with children unless in the company of another adult.
Lynch is due to appear again in Tweed Heads Court on July 18.
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In 1,312 cases (70%), the investigation was completed and 'no further action' was taken. In 13% of cases (244) administrative compliance action was taken, and in 180 cases (9.5%) statutory compliance action was taken. Other incidents were under investigation or handled in another case. A spokesperson for the NSW Early Childhood Education and Care Regulatory Authority said: 'We work closely with law enforcement and other agencies where required to support investigations. If a police investigation does not result in charges, we still conduct our own investigation and take strong action in line with the provisions of the National Law and Regulations.' The authority can bring prosecutions, and since 2021, it has prosecuted 34 providers, nominated supervisors and individuals, resulting in fines and conditional release, though none of these were in relation to sexual abuse allegations. 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'I really don't understand why we've had to wait so long … before we acted.' *Names have been changed In Australia, children, young adults, parents and teachers can contact the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800; adult survivors can seek help at Blue Knot Foundation on 1300 657 380. Other sources of help can be found at Child Helpline International
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2 hours ago
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