SCUBA COACH HAROLD COVELL SENTENCED OVER SEX ASSAULTS ON TEENS
A judge has praised two girls for speaking out after a scuba diving coach was sentenced for sexually assaulting them.As well as groping the girls, aged 13 and 16, Harold Covell, 85, also sent emails to other young women saying he wanted to have sex with them, Newcastle Crown Court heard.
Covell, from Sharow, near Ripon, was unfit to stand trial due to head injuries suffered in a fall in 2022, but following a trial of the facts, jurors found he had committed two counts of sexual assault.
He was given an absolute discharge as experts agreed that was the only suitable sentence due to his ill health, but Judge Robert Spragg said he hoped the girls would get some closure from his conviction.
The court had heard that Covell, who taught diving at the Spa Baths in Ripon, put his hand on the thigh of a 13-year-old girl and told her he could put it "higher" if she were a few years older.
He also made other inappropriate comments to her.
In a statement read to the court, the girl said she felt her "whole life tilt on an axis" during those "few moments", and she "knew everything was going to irreparably change".
She said her childhood had been "stripped" from her and she grieved for her loss of innocence.
"Time stopped in that moment and is yet to start again," the girl said.
The court also heard that Covell had put his hands on the thighs of a 16-year-old girl sitting in front of him and asked for a hug, which caused the girl to freeze and then push him away.
Judge Spragg praised the victims and others who provided evidence of Covell's inappropriate emails, where he expressed desires to seduce and make love to the women and asked for a kiss.
Despite Covell being unable to attend and understand proceedings due to his medical condition, the court deemed it necessary to hold a trial of the facts.
The jury found that Covell had committed the acts, but he was ultimately given an absolute discharge due to his health.
The judge hoped this conviction would provide some closure for the victims and help them move on from what happened.
