A former dance student tells a Sydney court how her world came crashing down after her teacher sexually abused her.
The student, now aged in her twenties, was making a victim impact statement during a sentencing hearing for self-confessed paedophile Grant Davies.
The 40-year-old pleaded guilty to 28 child pornography and sex abuse charges relating to 10 former students as young as nine, from his now-defunct RG Dance studio in Sydney’s inner west.
“When the crime occurred the first emotion was sadness,” she said by video link.
“I felt disgusted that I was a victim of someone trusted enough to have to family dinners.
“My world came crashing down. All my dreams of working in the dance industry [ended].
“The thought of stepping into a studio terrified me. Ashamed and embarrassed at the age of 15, I cried myself to sleep.”
Davies, dressed in a coat and blue shirt, was impassive as the woman read her statement.
She broke into tears towards the end.
“You have not won. You are nothing to me. You no longer have any power over anyone,” she said.
‘Many chose not to believe’
The woman was also highly critical of some of her dancing colleagues and their parents for not believing her complaints when they were first made.
“No-one listened to me apart from my family. Many chose to not believe,” she said.
“Next time when someone speaks out, take a closer look before disposing of a youth’s innocence so readily.”
The woman said she was still suffering.
“Today I stress over the smallest things. I am depressed and anxious,” the victim told the court.
Davies only spoke twice during the hearing in order to plead guilty to aggravated sexual assault charges.
He also stands accused of producing child abuse material by taking hundreds of photos of students at the studios.
Davies’ arrest came after his wife approached police on finding inappropriate messages he had sent to a girl.
Judge Jennie Girdham was handed a dossier of the material to consider.
She said that Davies would be sentenced on July 1.
Source: ‘My world came crashing down’, paedophile victim tells court