Coach guilty of sex with schoolgirl
Christine Caulfield
August 3, 2004

INTERNATIONAL tennis coach Gavin Hopper was behind bars last night
after being convicted of sex crimes against a schoolgirl.

After seven hours' deliberation, a County Court jury in Melbourne
found Hopper guilty of three counts of indecent assault and six of
gross indecency, but not guilty of two further counts of gross
indecency.

Hopper, who has trained stars including Mark Philippoussis, Monica
Seles and Wally Masur, runs a tennis academy at Hope Island on the
Gold Coast with former champion Pat Cash.

Hopper remained stony-faced in the dock as the jury of eight women
and four men read out its verdict. His wife Karen wept and shook her
head in disbelief.

The victim's husband said outside court he and his wife were very
thankful justice had been served.

"This whole process was undertaken in order for my wife to be heard
and acknowledged," he said.

Hopper, 48, who pleaded not guilty, was accused of having a four-year
sexual relationship with the former schoolgirl while he was a sports
teacher at Wesley College in Melbourne from 1985 to 1988.

She told the court she was 14 when the affair started and it had
destroyed her childhood.

The court earlier heard she and Hopper had had sex up to 300 times
during their relationship -- in his school office, the school
gymnasium, his sports car and his bedroom.

The jury convicted Hopper on nine of the 11 counts, all of which
related to five distinct incidents when the girl was under 16 and in
his care.

Three of the incidents happened in the East Doncaster home he shared
with his unsuspecting wife.

Defence lawyer David Galbally, QC, said Hopper would appeal the
verdict.

"He and his family strenuously maintain his innocence and he will be
exercising all his rights," he said. "He is bearing up very well in
all of the circumstances."

In his plea for leniency, Mr Galbally told Judge Graeme Crossley his
client's two young children depended on him as their provider and
tennis coach.

Mrs Hopper told the court their 13-year-old daughter, who was ranked
the No. 1 under-12 tennis player in the world, would not cope without
her father.

"It's hard to keep her tennis at that level if she's not constantly
with him," she said.

"He's totally in charge of her tennis and that's why she's gotten so
good."

She said if her husband were sent to jail it would devastate her
children.

They would have to relocate from their home on Hope Island,
Queensland to Melbourne, where they have no family or friends.

"They won't cope, they won't survive," she said.

Prosecutor Andrew Tinney said Hopper's crimes were serious and
warranted an immediate custodial sentence.

He faces a maximum of five years in prison for each count of indecent
assault. The maximum penalty for gross indecency, where the victim is
in the care of an authority figure, is three years.

He was remanded in custody for further plea and sentencing at a later
date.