Rapist rowing coach paroled

A ROWING coach who raped a student’s mother at a Lake Barrington regatta, while her teenage son slept on a swag nearby, has been released from jail on parole.

The highly publicised case came to trial in 2019 after the man, then 60, pleaded not guilty to three counts of indecent assault and one count of rape.

A Supreme Court jury took just 45 minutes to convict him, finding he had attacked the woman in her tent, in the middle of the night.

Judge Helen Wood jailed the man for four years, with a non-parole period of two years, noting his conduct was “sustained and persistent” as the woman repeatedly told him no, and that he was “preoccupied by his selfish desire”.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the coach of the woman’s son.

In its newly published decision, the Parole Board of Tasmania said the man had forced himself upon the woman “despite her many refusals”.

The woman prepared a statement to the board in which she said the prospect of his release caused her and her family “significant anxiety”.

“The board recognises the profoundly negative impact the applicant’s offending has had and will continue to have on the life of the victim and her family,” it said in its decision.

“The applicant was an alcoholic and was affected by alcohol at the time of the offending. He had developed an infatuation for the victim and had persuaded himself, despite the lack of any foundation, that his feelings were reciprocated.”

It said the man had served his time in jail “compliantly and quietly”, not breaking any rules imposed upon him.

The board said his incarceration had forced him to abstain from alcohol and that he was now considered “very low risk” for reoffending. The man was paroled as of August 3.