A former swimming coach from Sydney has been found guilty of 43 child sexual abuse offenses and has been taken into custody following a retrial that lasted several months.
Paul Douglas Frost had previously pleaded not guilty to numerous charges related to 11 complainants, all of whom were former students, during the 1990s and 2000s.
In addition to his coaching background, Frost gained public attention as a participant in the first season of the cooking show “MasterChef Australia,” which aired on Network 10.
Frost, 47, was initially arrested in September 2019 in Sylvania.
On Wednesday, in the Downing Centre District Court in Sydney, a jury unanimously found Frost guilty of all 43 charges listed in the indictment.
The offenses included multiple counts of sexual intercourse with a child between the ages of 10 and 16 under his authority, aggravated indecent assault of a child, and grooming a child under 14 for unlawful sexual activity.
The jury took only 10 minutes to announce the numerous verdicts.
Judge Sarah Huggett informed Frost that he had been convicted of the offenses.
The Crown presented a detention application, which Frost’s lawyers did not oppose.
He was handcuffed and taken into custody, with bail being refused.
Judge Huggett expressed gratitude to the jury on behalf of the community for sacrificing months of their time and conducting themselves diligently and professionally throughout the trial.
She also assured the jurors that counseling services would be available to them if needed.
Frost is scheduled to appear for a sentencing hearing in August.