“This is your dark legacy”: former Bright tennis coach jailed

A former Bright tennis coach who sexually abused seven girls between the ages of 11 to 17 over an 11-year period has been jailed for a year. Geoff Hollow, 70, was sentenced at the Wodonga County Court last Wednesday for 12 charges of sexual assault, grooming and indecent acts with children which occurred between 2011-2022. The court heard most of the 70-year-old’s offending came from inappropriate massaging of his victims on a modified stool he had fashioned from a bike seat in between private tennis lessons with them. Under the tennis club’s code of conduct and child safe police, which Hollow helped write and approve, he was not qualified or approved to conduct massages on the children. He would also ask his victims to try on tight fitting clothing and for them to train in them, regularly telling the girls the clothes needed to be modelled as they were to be donated for disadvantaged people struggling financially. Hollow was reported to police after one of his victims met with two other victims at the club after an indecent assault incident, deciding they needed to tell an adult. He was arrested by Wangaratta sex offence detectives at his Wandiligong home in 2022, with hundreds of photographs and videos, including of the victims, found on his phone. Hollow admitted to police he was well aware of his actions and that they breached the club’s policy, saying he “should have known better”. He was aged in his 50s and 60s during the offending. Six of the seven victims shared statements in court, with some of the them saying they had lost their love for tennis and hadn’t played the sport since. One of the victims said the offending had impacted not only her but her family, who feel they did not protect her from him. Judge Peter Rozen said Hollow’s offending would have a drastic, long-term effect on numerous lives having occurred in such a tight-knit community. “It tears apart that social fabric… this is your dark legacy,” he said. “The parents of your young victims had entrusted their care to you and the tennis clubs for which you worked. “You took advantage of that trust for your own sexual gratification.” Hollow moved from the region when the offending was discovered and wrote a letter of apology to the victims, which was aired in court. Prosecutor David O'Doherty said there was no explanation for why Hollow had offended, and said he had lived a "Jekyll and Hyde" life. Following Hollow’s release, he will serve an 18-month community corrections order and will be ordered to participate in programs for reducing risk for sexual offending, to be supervised and partake in mental health treatment. Hollow has also been placed on the register of sex offenders for life.

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