Australian women’s indoor hockey coach admits to kissing teenage girl

11 hours ago 3

Australian women’s indoor hockey coach Lauren Austin has pleaded guilty to the indecent assault of a child under her care, while two other more serious charges she was facing have been discontinued.

Austin, 39, was arrested in March last year and charged with indecently dealing with a child over 16 under care/authority, sexual penetration of a child over 16 under their authority, and sexual penetration without consent. All the charges relate to one girl and occurred in Perth.

Lauren Austin, 39, has been charged with sexual assault of a child.

On Wednesday, she appeared in Perth Magistrates Court and wiped away tears as she pleaded guilty to four of the indecent dealing charges, which the magistrate stated were in relation to kissing the girl. The two sexual penetration charges were dropped.

Austin was granted bail under the condition she not engage with community activities involving supervising children, including as a sports coach at any level.

As a result of those conditions she was stood down from her coaching role.

“The alleged offences occurred on several different dates, at locations in the Perth metropolitan area, including when the female victim was both an adult and a juvenile,” a WA Police spokesman said.

“At the time of the alleged offences the woman held a coaching position with a national sporting team.”

Hockey Australia released a statement saying it was aware that a matter had been reported to the authorities and was currently subject to investigation and legal proceedings.

“We have fully cooperated with the relevant authorities and have taken appropriate steps to mitigate any risk to our participants,” the statement said.

“To protect the integrity of the process and the interests of all parties, no further information will be provided at this time.”

Austin retired from international indoor hockey in 2020 after competing at the highest level for more than a decade.

She had been a member of the Australian Indoor Hockey squads since 2006, representing her country at two Indoor Hockey World Cups in 2007 and 2018, scoring five goals across the two tournaments.

She told Hockey Australia in 2020 that she ran a cleaning company in Perth and was a self-funded athlete.

In a statement at the time of her retirement, Hockey Australia said Austin, nick-named “Ozzie”, had been “a respected leader”.

Austin’s case will now be put through to the Perth District Court in September where arrangements will be made for her sentencing.

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