EARLSFIELD TENNIS COACH DANIEL MCWHINNIE SPARED JAIL AFTER SEXUAL ASSAULT IN WANDSWORTH

In a case that has shocked the local community of Earlsfield and the wider Wandsworth area, Daniel McWhinnie, a 54-year-old tennis coach, was found guilty of sexually assaulting a young girl and possessing a large collection of indecent images of children. The incident took place inside a Wandsworth sports club, where McWhinnie was employed as a coach.

According to reports, the assault occurred in April 2015, when McWhinnie moved behind his young victim, who was under the age of 10, as she was viewing a noticeboard within the sports facility. It was during this moment that he placed his hands over her shoulders and onto her chest inappropriately. The distressing incident was captured on internal CCTV footage, which was discovered by a manager at the club. The footage clearly showed McWhinnie’s inappropriate actions, prompting immediate concern and investigation.

Patricia Strobino, representing the Crown Prosecution Service for London South, stated, “Daniel McWhinnie deliberately abused his position of trust to touch a young girl for his own sexual pleasure. He knew what he was doing was a criminal offence as he had been clearly warned about the bounds of inappropriate behaviour before but still took the opportunity to grope her when he thought they were alone.”

Following the evidence, McWhinnie appeared in Kingston Crown Court on February 1, where he was sentenced to 18 months in prison, though the sentence was suspended for two years. As part of his sentence, he was also ordered to participate in a 60-day sex offenders’ rehabilitation programme. Additionally, a sexual harm prevention order was issued, prohibiting him from engaging in any paid or voluntary work involving children in the future.

Further investigations revealed that McWhinnie had also admitted to possessing over 3,000 indecent images of children, which were found on his computer devices at his home during the same month as the assault. Some of these images depicted children being sexually abused or raped, highlighting the severity of his criminal conduct.

Ms. Strobino emphasized the importance of protecting victims, noting, “This young girl was able to have much of her evidence filmed to take away some of the worry and stress of appearing in a courtroom, as part of the CPS’ commitment to helping children and vulnerable victims. However, the strength of the evidence against McWhinnie led him to change his pleas at the last moment, saving his victim and her family from any more distress and he now has to face the consequences of his actions.”