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Search forKarate club officer defends child rapist
Tuesday, August 12, 2008, 09:00
David Gray, who ran the Benkai-Do Club in Melin for nearly five years, is awaiting sentence for three counts of rape, 21 counts of indecent assault and five offences involving a serious sexual assault. The victims were three girls as young as 10.
But club secretary Sian Loveday — also a family friend of Gray — believes children were always in safe hands at the club and pointed to a trip Gray had organised for families to Oakwood theme park as evidence of his good nature.
Her words came as a Swansea karate instructor and child protection expert warned that anyone could start a club, and called for legislation to improve their monitoring. In a letter to the Post, Ms Loveday said: "David was a fully qualified karate instructor when he first started up his club — he wanted to pass on his knowledge to others".
"I can honestly say no students were in any danger whatsoever.
"I was always there at the desk and no student was ever left on their own or allowed outside the club, if the parents happened to be late."
Gray, of Morgan's Road, Neath, was licensed through the Amateur Martial Association (AMA) in Yorkshire. Since last year it has insisted members are Criminal Record Bureau checked when they join.
But Ms Loveday claims Gray had been CRB checked and cleared every year since he opened the club in 2003. "I also know that anyone within the club that had anything to do with the students or the running of the club also had to be CRB checked — a condition David himself put in place for all his students' safety."
However, it is understood the police investigation which led to Gray's conviction last month started after he applied for a CRB check in July 2007, which raised suspicions.
Many of the 41-year-old's offences date from the 1990s and relate to two girls from Yorkshire. Other offences from 2001 and 2002 involved a young Port Talbot girl.
But Ms Loveday continues to defend Gray and his running of the club.
She added: "David had strict rules within the club, no student under the age of 16 would be allowed to join unless they brought parents so that David could meet them and find out if they had any illness or learning difficulties. David would never change with the students, not even the adult males, as this was a rule laid down by the AMA, and would not enter changing rooms unless they were empty."
Swansea karate teacher Paul Scott, the Welsh karate governing body's child protection officer, meanwhile called for better monitoring of such clubs.
He said: "All our members have to pass accreditation and have to complete a safeguarding and protecting children course. They all go through CRB checks.
"Unfortunately, no system is infallible, but we have as much in place as we possibly can to show up previous indiscretions."
However, Mr Scott believes other offenders could slip through the net as there is currently no legislation preventing anyone from opening a karate club, even without the backing of a governing body.
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