Grant Davies, Chiswick, New South Wales, Australia (arrested May 2013)

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Grant Davies (Abbotsford, New South Wales, Australia), owner and dance teacher at RGDANCE, 15-17 Bibby Street, Chiswick, New South Wales, Australia, "accused of photographing young girls posing naked, grooming girls for sex and having thousands of child porn images on his laptop"

Australian News: Dance teacher charged with grooming child (May 17 2013)

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The 39-year-old man [Grant Davies], who runs a dance studio on Bibby Street in Chiswick, was arrested about 6pm (AEST) on Friday, police said in a statement. Police had launched an investigation after a large amount of child porn and evidence of grooming was found on a computer in April. The man was charged with grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and two counts of producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material.​

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Sydney Morning Herald: Dance school director on child abuse charges (May 18 2013)

Abbotsford resident Grant Davies, who ran the dance studio RGDANCE on Bibby Street in Chiswick, allegedly photographed various young girls naked over a period of nine years between 2004 and 2013. Mr Davies also allegedly sent pictures of himself over the internet to two girls, aged under 10 and under 13, in an attempt to procure them for sex. The 39-year-old applied for bail when he appeared via audio visual link in Parramatta Local Court this morning. He was charged with grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and two counts of producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material.​

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The magistrate rejected the bail application saying the allegations were "worrying to say the least" and that the community needed to be protected.​

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The court heard that Mr Davies had been online grooming the 13-year-old girl for a period of five months and possessed child pornography images that dated back to 2004.​

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News.com.au: Sydney dance teacher arrested over online child grooming charges (May 18 2013)

Concerned parents are set to hold a meeting at the dance studio tomorrow evening. The man is accused of photographing young girls naked and possessing thousands of child porn images on his laptop. Police allege the photographs were taken over a period of nine years between 2004 and 2013. He appeared in Parramatta Bail Court today where he was refused bail on charges of grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and two counts of producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material. One of the allegations includes a claim the man was grooming a 13-year-old girl for a period of five months. Investigators began looking at the man in April, around which time he began updating his Facebook profile with cryptic messages.​

Courier Mail: Sydney dance teacher arrested over online child grooming charges (May 18 2013)

 

His wife ratted him out.

The Age: Dance teacher 'snapped' naked girls (May 19 2013)

But for almost the entire time Mr Davies operated his RG Dance studio, police claim he was taking naked photographs of female students. In recent years Mr Davies, whose students have gone on to perform in major productions such as The Lion King and Billy Elliot, is alleged to have groomed two of them for sex.​

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The 39-year-old appeared in Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday accused of taking naked photographs of children, some as young as six, attending classes at the Chiswick studio between 2004 and 2013. He is also accused of grooming two female students, both under the age 16, in an attempt to procure them for sex.​

Last month his wife, Lisa Ricketts, allegedly discovered inappropriate emails her husband had sent to a student. She copied them onto a thumb drive and handed them to police.​

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Police allege they found ''hundreds'' of photographs taken by Mr Davies of various naked girls from between 2004 and 2013. In some images Mr Davies is allegedly reflected in a mirror in the act of photographing girls, some estimated by police to be as young as six, inside the dance studio.​

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Thousands of images of child pornography downloaded from the internet were also found, court documents allege. He was arrested in North Strathfield on Friday night. Documents before the court allege he recorded a video call in which one girl, under the age of 10, performed sexually suggested poses. He allegedly wrote sexually explicit message to another child, under the age of 13, that included: ''I need our hugs more and more.''​

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But the teacher first came to police attention in 2007 for alleged child sex offences, documents before the court reveal. At that time he was accused of sending students explicit emails about his sexual fantasies including a desire to a ''threesome'' with two of them. He was never charged. Parents said they had been concerned about ''rumours'' of the 2007 incident.​

Sydney Morning Herald: 'Betrayed': top dance coach arrested (May 19 2013)

Farm Weekly: 'Betrayed': top dance coach arrested (May 20 2013)

 

Nine MSN: Dance teacher accused of photographing naked students (May 19 2013)

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Grant Davies appeared in Paramatta Bail Court on Saturday and was charged with grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, grooming a child under 14 years old for unlawful sexual activity and two counts of producing, disseminating or possessing child abuse material, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. The 39-year-old operated RG Dance studio in Chiswick in Sydney's inner west for almost a decade and police claim he was taking photos of naked students, some as young as six years old, for almost the entire time.​

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Last month Davies' wife Lisa Ricketts went to police after allegedly finding inappropriate emails her husband had sent to a student, the newspaper reports. Police allege they found "hundreds" of images Davies had taken of naked girls between 2004 and 2013, some of which include his reflection in a mirror as he took the photograph. They also claim to have found thousands of images of child pornography downloaded from the internet.​

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Court documents allege he wrote a text message to one girl under the age of 13 saying, "I need our hugs more and more". He also recorded a video call with a girl under the age of 10 in which she performed sexually suggestive poses, it is alleged.​

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Davies was first accused of child sex offences in 2007 when he allegedly sent students sexually explicit emails but he was never charged and continued to teach at the dance school.​

 

Warwick Daily News: Top dance coach arrested for child porn (May 19 2013)

A PROMINENT Sydney teacher is facing charges of taking photographs of naked children, after a court appearance on Saturday. The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Sunday dance teacher Grant Davies was also accused of grooming two female students under the age of 16 in an attempt to procure them for sex. Mr [Grant] Davies appeared in Parramatta Bail Court on the charges on Saturday, after his wife allegedly discovered inappropriate emails he had sent a student. The Herald reported his wife copied the emails to a thumb drive and handed it to police. Police alleged they found hundreds of photographs taken by Mr Davies of various naked girls between 2004 and 2013. ​

CQ News: Top dance coach arrested for child porn (May 19 2013)

 

Sydney Morning Herald: Wife thought teacher was having affair, court told (May 20 2013)

The wife of high-profile dance teacher Grant Davies became suspicious when he placed a security lock on his phone and computer, court documents reveal. The usually outgoing Mr Davies, who was a co-director of RG Dance Studio in Sydney's inner west, had become ''secretive'' in the past few months, Lisa Ricketts told police.​

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One night last month, he was out teaching a class at his dance studio in Chiswick when his computer turned on automatically, documents before Parramatta Local Court state. When Ms Ricketts checked what was going on she is alleged to have discovered an iCloud account that contained messages suggesting he was having an affair. She also allegedly found correspondence suggesting her husband was ''grooming'' the woman's daughter.​

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Ms Ricketts copied the alleged correspondence to a thumb drive and took this and his laptop to Burwood police station.​

Nine MSN: Wife became 'suspicious' of man accused of grooming (May 20 2013)

Brisbane Time: Wife thought teacher was having affair, court told (May 20 2013)

 

Yahoo! News: Sydney dance teacher now on sex charges (May 22 2013)

A prominent Sydney dance teacher [Grant Davies] accused of grooming children and aggravated sexual assault has been refused bail after a court heard he could try to delete photographic evidence if released ... But Ms Swift said there were concerns the allegations of child grooming were ongoing and were only "interrupted" after Davies' wife found some material on his computer and went to police. She alleged Davies had taken photographs of young children at his dance studio, using his position to gain their trust and then taking photographs of them in "sexually suggestive poses" ... On Wednesday, he was charged with a further six offences, including four counts of aggravated sexual assault with a child under 16 and two counts of indecent assault. Added to the previous counts of possessing and disseminating child abuse material and grooming girls for sex, the total number of offences he faces is now 10. According to court documents, police also allege that between 2003 and 2004 Davies performed a number of sexual acts on a 12-year-old boy.​

 

Big Pond News: More sex charges against dance teacher (May 22 2013)

Grant Davies, 39, who ran a dance studio on Bibby Street in Chiswick, was arrested on Friday after police allegedly uncovered a large amount of child porn and evidence of grooming on a computer. At Burwood Local Court on Wednesday, Davies' solicitor Phillip Gibson said he had just been handed six more charges against his client, bringing the total number to 10. The charges are believed to be more serious in nature.​

Big Pond News: Aggravated sex charges for dance teacher (May 22 2013)

 

Perth Now: RG Dance studio teacher Grant Davies 'not shy' of the camera (May 22 2013)

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But yesterday a court heard the 39-year-old [Grant Davies] was also active behind the lens - his reflection caught in the background as he photographed his underage pupils naked or in sexually-suggestive poses. The former director and instructor at Sydney studio RG Dance appeared in Burwood Court where police laid another six charges on top of allegations he groomed two girls - aged 13 and 14 - for sex and kept hundreds of child-porn images on his computer. Davies was accused of repeatedly sexually abusing a 12-year-old male dance student up to a decade ago, the latest in what police claim could be a series of new victims to come forward now the allegations against him were made public.​

 

Yahoo! News: Sydney dance school teacher facing more sex charges (May 22 2013)

A former Sydney dance teacher charged with possessing child abuse material and grooming teenage girls is now facing charges of aggravated sexual assault ... He was charged with grooming two girls aged 13 and 14 for sex after allegedly sending them indecent material. Police allegedly found a large number of pictures of naked children on his laptop computer. Today police laid another six charges against Davies, bringing the total number of charges to 10. The new charges are four counts of aggravated sexual assault of a person under 16 and two counts of aggravated indecent assault of a person under 16.​

 

Comments by various people involved in the case ...

ABC News: Dance teacher's child porn charges bring industry scrutiny (May 23 2013)

 

ABC News: Dance industry needs greater scrutiny: former teacher (May 23 2013)

A former colleague of a Sydney dance teacher charged with possessing child pornography and grooming teenage girls says there needs to be greater scrutiny of the dance industry ... Acrobatic teacher Tracie Seipel, who grew up with Davies and his sister, taught at RG Dance for five years ... Ms Seipel says she is concerned about Davies' contact with students. "While we in dance need to touch our students, that is a part of our job, there were times when that is acceptable and simply not appropriate," she said. The former teacher believes a change is needed in the dance industry. "We need to have somebody to step up and take order of our industry and get some regulations in there and start making people accountable so that we can run a preventative industry, not a reactionary [industry]."​

 

Herald Sun: Online commenters turn on accused dance teacher (May 20 2013)

A well-known Sydney dance school teacher [Grant Davies] accused of child grooming and child pornography offences has attracted a barrage of obscene criticism on social media. People are now urging the Facebook page be taken down since it contains thousands of photos, many of which include young girls who appear to be his dance students ...​

 

Yahoo! News: RG Dance Studio closes after founder charged with child sex offences (May 24 2013)

The RG Dance Studio in Sydney's inner-west has made the decision to close down after its founder [Grant Davies] was charged with multiple child sexual assault offences ... This afternoon his sister and RG Dance co-director Rebecca Davies sent out an email to parents saying the number of clients withdrawing children from classes meant the business would be closing down. She said she understands the concerns parents have, and that Davies's actions had put a question mark over the safety of the students at the studio.​

 

Written as a dialogue between several people, readable but hard to quote sensibly ...

ABC: Dance industry demands regulation after teacher's arrest (June 3 2013)

 

Yahoo! News: Dance studio assault claims prompt look at regulation (June 4 2013)

Representatives of Australia's largest dance schools were to meet on Tuesday to discuss proposals for a national body to oversee regulation in the wake of the sex assault scandal at Sydney's RG Dance Studio. Despite the fact that as many as half a million Australian children learn dance, the industry is largely unregulated. The push for change comes after the arrest of Sydney dance teacher Grant Davies, who has been charged with ten offences that include the sexual assault of a 12-year-old boy and producing and disseminating child pornography. Davies was arrested two weeks ago and the school has since been shut down.​

 

Sydney Morning Herald: Dance teacher Grant Davies charged with 37 extra child sex offences (July 17 2013)

A high-profile Sydney dance teacher accused of taking hundreds of naked photographs of female students and grooming them for sex has been charged with an extra 37 child sex offences, police say. Grant Davies, a former co-director of RG Dance, based in Sydney's inner west, did not appear before Burwood Local Court on Wednesday to face a total of 47 charges.​

 

Yahoo! News: Sydney dance teacher Grant Davies to face court on 37 more child sex charges (July 17 2013)

A Sydney man is facing an additional 37 charges over the alleged sexual and indecent assault of students at a dance studio. The extra charges against Grant Davies have been laid after more students of the RG Dance Studio came forward ... On Tuesday the extra charges were laid, including 14 counts of aggravated sexual assault, 18 counts of aggravated indecent assault and four counts of aggravated indecency. He has now been charged with 47 offences, with the alleged victims being aged between nine and 14.​

 

Daily Telegraph: Dance teacher Grant Davies hit with 37 additional child abuse and child pornography charges (July 17 2013)

Grant Davies, who ran a dance studio in Sydney's inner west along with his sister, is due before Burwood Local Court on Wednesday. Police charged the 39-year-old with 37 additional charges on Tuesday, bringing to 47 the total number of alleged offences. These include 14 counts of aggravated sexual assault, 18 counts of aggravated indecent assault and four counts of aggravated acts of indecency. He also is accused of possessing and disseminating child abuse material and grooming girls for sex.​