A high-profile gymnastics coach, trainer of multiple Olympians and long-time owner of one of Melbourne’s largest gym providers has been charged with seven child sex offences.
Ross Bouskill, former owner of Jets Gymnastics, appeared via video link at Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court in Melbourne on Monday.
His lawyer Ian Robertson said he plans to defend the seven charges, which include allegedly exposing his penis to a child and allegedly having a child remove her top so he could take photographs.
Bouskill was a mentor to hundreds of Victorian gymnasts over three decades, including some who progressed to the highest levels of the sport.
In 2020 he handed over control of Jets Gymnastics, which includes seven locations in Victoria, after almost 30 years of ownership. He now runs a business consulting agency.
Victorian police allege he caressed a child’s leg and moved his hand upwards towards her vagina in 1995, one of seven charges stretching over 15 years.
Three charges date from between 2001 and 2005, including allegedly exposing his penis to a child, allegedly massaging a child’s pubic bone area with his hands and allegedly getting a child to remove her top so he could take photographs of her.
Three more charges of allegedly touching the outside of child’s vagina with his finger relate to a period between 2010 and 2011.
Each charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail.
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The matter is set down for a contest mention in June.