Portsmouth swimming coach who supplied naked images of pupils to Australian paedophile convicted

A former sports coach from Portsmouth who supplied naked images of swimming pupils to an Australian paedophile has been convicted.

Terry Neale, aged 55, was identified after a contact of his, Stephen Porter, was arrested in June 2020 by officers from the Australian Federal Police (AFP).

Porter was convicted of child sexual exploitation offences in September last year and jailed for 20 years. The pair had known each other for more than 20 years and met up in Australia when Porter was coaching youth Australian football players.

AFP officers recovered videos taken by Neale in 2013 of a young boy getting dressed after bathing at his house. Neale can be seen speaking with the child and providing towels.

Other videos shared by Neale showed pupils getting changed at swimming pools in the Portsmouth area. In one video, Neale appears to place a bag on a bench and adjusts a hidden camera. He’s then seen walking around the changing room and talking to naked boys.

In further videos of children’s swimming lessons, taken with a hidden camera in August 2013, Neale is wearing wet clothing and goggles, suggesting he has been in the water with pupils.

He was employed by a swimming school at the time and also worked as a local amateur youth football coach for various teams, none of which had knowledge of his offending until it was discovered by the AFP.

The victims in the UK videos have been spoken to and safeguarded.

Neale was arrested by NCA officers at his home address in January 2021.

He appeared at Winchester Crown Court today (27 September) where he pleaded guilty to voyeurism and indecent images of children offences (possessing and making).

One count of arranging / facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13 and two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images will lie on file.

He is due to be sentenced at the same court on 15 January 2024.

NCA Operations Manager Martin Ludlow said: "Terry Neale flagrantly abused the position of trust he’d held in the community in the most shocking way.

"He should have been someone to be looked up to and admired, but instead he preyed on innocent young children to satisfy his and Stephen Porter’s sexual gratification. His offending was cowardly and devious.

"The NCA will continue to do all it can, in collaboration with international partners like the Australian Federal Police, to pursue offenders like Neale and protect the victims of online child sexual abuse."

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