Terry Neale

Terry Neale, a 55-year-old former sports coach from Portsmouth, was convicted at Winchester Crown Court on 27 September 2023 for a series of child sexual exploitation offences. Neale, who worked as a swimming instructor and youth football coach, abused his position of trust by secretly filming young boys in changing rooms and at his home, capturing indecent images that he shared with Stephen Porter, an Australian paedophile.

The investigation began in June 2020 when Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested Porter, a long-time associate of Neale's, for child sexual exploitation offences. Porter, who had known Neale for over 20 years and met him during coaching sessions in Australia, was convicted in September 2022 and sentenced to 20 years in prison. During the search of Porter's devices, AFP officers recovered videos filmed by Neale in 2013, including footage of a young boy getting dressed after bathing at Neale's house, where Neale could be seen interacting with the child and providing towels.

Further evidence revealed additional videos shared by Neale, showing pupils changing at swimming pools in the Portsmouth area. In one particularly disturbing clip, Neale placed a bag on a bench to conceal a hidden camera, adjusted it, and then walked around the changing room conversing with naked boys. Other videos from children's swimming lessons in August 2013 depicted Neale wearing wet clothing and goggles, indicating he had been in the water with the pupils while operating the hidden camera. At the time, Neale was employed by a local swimming school, and his youth football teams were unaware of his activities until the AFP's discovery.

Neale was arrested in January 2021 by officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) at his home in Portsmouth. Appearing at Winchester Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to charges of voyeurism and offences related to possessing and making indecent images of children. One count of arranging or facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child under 13, along with two counts of possessing extreme pornographic images, were ordered to lie on file. Sentencing was scheduled for 15 January 2024 at the same court.

The victims featured in the UK videos have been identified, spoken to, and safeguarded by authorities. NCA Operations Manager Martin Ludlow commented on the case, stating: "Terry Neale flagrantly abused the position of trust he’d held in the community in the most shocking way. He should have been someone to be looked up to and admired, but instead he preyed on innocent young children to satisfy his and Stephen Porter’s sexual gratification. His offending was cowardly and devious." The NCA emphasised its ongoing collaboration with international partners like the AFP to combat online child sexual abuse and pursue similar offenders.