While awaiting trial, a former competitive swimming coach who was accused of assaulting several boys, including an Australian Olympian, passed away in detention. John Wright, a former national junior swimming coach, was detained last year following allegations that he had s*xually assaulted five boys while coaching them in Australia and abroad, according to ABC.
The death of a prisoner at Brisbane’s Princess Alexandra Hospital Secure Unit was confirmed by Queensland Corrective Services last night.
“The 79-year-old male was declared deceased on November 1,” the spokesperson told ABC.
“QCS will assist Queensland Police in preparing a report for the coroner.”
Several ABC investigations last year focused on Wright and said that during the 1980s while working out at two Queensland pools, he had sexually molested minors.
What was his cause of death?
He was 79 when he passed away. He died in Princess Alexandra Hospital Secure Unit in Brisbane last night.
His cause of death might have been some sort of illness as he was admitted to the hospital. However, no officials have confirmed his cause of death till the moment.
Victims of junior swimming coach John Wright’s assault.
The Australian Olympian Shane Lewis reported to Swimming Australia in 2016 that Wright had molested him inappropriately in Brisbane between the ages of 11 and 13.
The cause of Shane Lewis’ death in February 2021 was suicide, according to his family.
The ABC also spoke with two other former competitive swimmers who said that Wright had S*xually assaulted them when they were boys and under his coaching at Brisbane’s Chandler pool in the mid-1980s.
Shane Lewis represented Australia in the 1980 Olympic Games in Barcelona. He enjoyed a respectable fan base on social media because of his contributions to the sports world. She kept a lot of her early life private, but after some time, her friend Lisa opened up about her profession and the struggles she had to face.
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Prior to his passing, when he was just 12 years old, he too tried to complain, but it was unsuccessful. Lisa, however, took action as a result of her desire to spare any child from such suffering.
Paul Shearer, a different swimmer, said Wright had mistreated him as a child while instructing him at the Palm Beach Currumbin pool on the Gold Coast.
Shearer committed suicide in 2020.
John Wright, a former swimming instructor, arrives in Brisbane
A task team was formed by Queensland Police to look into the claims the day after the ABC story was published.
John Wright detention and court appearances:
Wright was detained in Western Australia two weeks later and extradited to Queensland where he will be charged with nine counts of indecent conduct with children and one offense of common assault.
Due to medical difficulties, his first court appearance in Brisbane was postponed.
Due to medical difficulties, his first court appearance in Brisbane was postponed.
He had chest symptoms and was rushed to the hospital, the Brisbane Magistrates Court was informed.
After new complaints surfaced in February, Queensland Police charged him with an additional 20 offenses.