Convicted paedophile was lifeguard at Butlins
South African deported from Australia worked for 10 months in family resort despite a dozen convictions
A CONVICTED paedophile deported from Australia has been working as a lifeguard at Butlin’s in Somerset for almost a year, an investigation has found.
Dean Carelse, 43, is a disgraced water polo coach and teacher who in 2022 was convicted of more than a dozen charges relating to indecent acts against children in Queensland, Australia.
The South African national was jailed for two years and spent almost 300 days in custody before being deported back to his home country.
He is also under investigation in South Africa, where police believe he is linked to an alleged paedophile ring that operated in private schools, investigators told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) yesterday.
Despite his record of convictions – and the publicity around the case, which was covered extensively by South African and Australian press – Carelse was cleared to work for the Butlin’s resort in Minehead.
Carelse was exposed as having worked for the resort as a children’s lifeguard for the past 10 months following an investigation by ABC. He is said to have arrived in the UK at the beginning of 2023.
The holiday park advertises itself as having pools suitable for “all-action family fun”. Carelse is understood to have worked in the Splash Waterworld pool complex which boasts four water rides and where children aged eight and above can swim unaccompanied.
Butlin’s disclosed yesterday that Carelse had lied on his application to secure his role and has since fired him. It is understood Carelse had presented documents that showed he had passed a disclosure and barring service (DBS) criminal check.
Butlin’s said they “immediately conducted an investigation” after his criminal background came to light. The resort in Minehead said “no complaints or issues had been raised” during his employment.
A spokesman said: “As part of our recruitment process and in line with government guidance, we carried out an enhanced DBS check and right-towork status which came back clear. “The team member falsified information on their application, and we can confirm they no longer work for us. In addition, there have been no complaints or issues raised against them.
“Due to the severity of this we have reviewed our policy and can confirm additional checks for existing international team and future international applicants will be carried out.” On its online job portal, Butlin’s requires applicants for their lifeguard positions to declare whether they have “any unspent criminal convictions” or “ongoing criminal proceedings that we should be aware of ”.
The application forms state: “Due to the nature of some of our roles at Butlin’s, you may be required to undergo a DBS check as part of your employment. This will also apply should you live in our resorts.”
Carelse had previously mentored rugby players in South Africa before working for Water Polo Queensland and elite schools in Australia. His career ended when he was caught taking pictures of children in their swimming trunks while he was poolside at their school sports carnival. In what prosecutors called a “slippery slope” of offending, the teacher had gone on to groom a 13-year-old boy for sex and message other minors on social media under an alias.
Police later uncovered 2,000 exploitative images in a raid on Carelse’s home north of Brisbane, as well as indecent recordings of students at a pool. It was unclear exactly when Carelse left South Africa, but he was believed to have worked in Australia until his arrest in 2021. He was deported back to South Africa after being sentenced the following year.
‘The team member falsified information on their application... [he] no longer works for us’