WSL Surfer And Coach Pleads Guilty To 29 Child Sexual Assault Charges

Connor Lyons, 26, once ranked 48th on the QS, is now remanded in custody and will plead guilty to 29 charges relating to child sexual abuse. The charges span grooming, indecent treatment of children, wilful exposure, and the production and deletion of child abuse material. He told a Maroochydore court yesterday — via audio-visual link from custody — that he intends to represent himself.

Lyons was first arrested in December and charged with 15 offences involving two boys on the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast over a 14-month period. That number quickly ballooned. Within a week of the first arrest, police tacked on 14 more charges after a search of a Gympie property uncovered further evidence.

There are now four alleged victims, and 29 charges in total.

The most serious carries a 20-year maximum sentence.

Police allege that after his initial arrest, Lyons returned to his mother’s Sunshine Coast home, accessed a device containing child abuse material, and wiped it. During a follow-up interview, he allegedly admitted to accessing child pornography online for over a decade. He also allegedly confessed to filming children, rewatching the footage, and beginning his offending in 2018.

The initial allegations include Lyons exposing himself, bathing with minors, coercing naked massages, and creating a coaching environment that — at least outwardly — sold itself as a “safe space” for children. Hot choc, after-surf croissants, and overnight school holiday programs.

What it masked, police allege, was a multi-year pattern of calculated abuse.

In December, Lyons’ bail was granted under strict conditions. By his second arrest, that decision was reversed. He’s been locked up ever since.

He is no longer represented by a solicitor. Bradford Hill, who appeared with Lyons during earlier proceedings, formally withdrew from the case yesterday.

The case returns to court later this week for committal. Lyons likely faces a future defined by courtroom appearances and, very likely, a long stint behind bars.