Claire Lyte

Infobox Criminal
subject_name = Claire Lyte


image_size =
image_caption =
date_of_birth = 27 September 1978
place_of_birth = Solihull
date_of_death =
place_of_death =
parents = Colin Lyte
charge = Sexual assault
penalty = 2 years, 9 months imprisonment (indefinite ban on working with children)
status = Imprisoned
occupation = Tennis coach

Claire Lyte (born 27 September 1978) [ [http://www.itftennis.com/womens/players/player.asp?player=20006274 ITF Tennis - Womens Circuit - Player Biography ] ] is a former professional tennis player and former national tennis coach from Shirley, West Midlands. She is currently serving a custodial sentence for a conviction of four counts of sexual assault against a child.

Background

Lyte pursued a career as a tennis professional, and even appeared at Wimbledon [http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23416156-details/'Lesbian'+tennis+coach+accused+of+affair++admits+wearing+13-year-old+pupil's+knickers/article.do 'Lesbian' tennis coach accused of affair admits wearing 13-year-old pupil's knickers| News | This is London ] ] , [cite web
title =Women's Singles - Qualifying Draw (Knock-out)
work =Wimbledon 1998
publisher =ITF
url =http://www.itftennis.com/womens/tournaments/tournamentresults.asp?event=1020000257&tournament=1020000155
accessdate = 2007-12-05 ] before her career was cut premature by injury in 1998. Instead, she took up coaching and in 2001 was named the Young Coach of the Year by the LTA. She helped bring through emerging talent at the LTA Centre in Loughborough.

Arrest

In October 2005, the mother of one of Lyte's students allegedly found her and her 13-year-old daughter in bed, performing oral sex on each other. It is believed an inappropriate relationship had been going on for an unknown period prior this discovery; as the LTA had already given Lyte an official warning over her conduct with the girl. This included sharing a toilet cubicle with the girl ("See: Child grooming") and possibly sharing intimate texts between each other. Lyte admitted during her trial that the relationship had contravened the guidelines of the LTA, in becoming close with the student, but she was reticent towards it and that it had never become sexual in nature. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2626088.ece We were not in bed, says accused coach - I was doing the dishes - Times Online ] ] It became evident in court that the girl was perhaps bullied at school and had an unhappy home life; with Lyte claiming that the mother was "pushy and ambitious". [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/india_knight/article2702716.ece Turning kids into circus freaks | India Knight - Times Online ] ]

However, the child's mother chose against reporting this incident to the police; despite calling Lyte a paedophile immediately after the incident, and claiming Lyte told her she loved her daughter. [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=485402&in_page_id=1770 'How I found my 13-year-old daughter having sex with her lesbian tennis coach' | the Daily Mail ] ] She justified this alleging she received assurances from both Lyte and Lyte's father, who intervened on her behalf, that it would not happen again and would be to the detriment of her daughter's wishes to do so, in possibly jeopordising her career by taking away her coach. [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/crime/article2584179.ece?token=null&offset=12 Mother 'saw tennis coach Clare Lyte in sex act' with daughter, 13 - Times Online ] ] Her daughter also asked her to "trust her". The victim's grandmother alleged during the trial that Colin Lyte and Ms. Lyte had threatened her were she to go to the police, during an intervention between the two families. [ [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2592310.ece Grandmother confronted tennis coach Claire Lyte over claims of lesbian sex - Times Online ] ] [http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=1589212007 Scotsman.com News ] ] In subsequent months, Lyte and the girl were allowed to go shopping together and spend time alone at hotels.

It was not until 9 months later, in August 2006, that the girl's mother was prompted in to alerting the police, when she allegedly found Lyte wearing her daughter's clothing; later telling the court that, "My stomach turned." She also described Lyte's attitude as dismissive and said that she was smirking. Lyte informed the girl's mother at this point that the girl had played poorly and would not be admitted in to the next tournament. The defence later claimed, in court, that it was because of this revelation that the girl's mother concocted the story, upset that her daughter's career would not be as successful as she had hoped.

Upon searching Lyte's home and belongings, the police discovered underwear belonging to the girl (with a name tag), with Lyte's DNA on them, which she admitted to wearing, albeit accidentally. Police also recovered a pink jumper and pyjama bottoms, a Helly Hanson jacket and a pair of shoes all belonging to the girl. It also emerged that texts of a more explicit nature had occurred between the pair; one in which the girl announced that 'What we have done isn't just amazing but fucking amazing and I really love you and love what's happened and never thought this would happen [sic] .' Lyte later claimed that the girl was in another world and that she did not report the texts to the LTA because she was 'insecure and embarrassed'.

Lyte was charged with one count of sexual assault against a minor. In March 2007, at Liverpool Crown Court, she denied one count of sexual assault (relating to the incident in October 2005). On May 18, 2007, she was charged with four more counts of sexual activity with a child, again denying the charges. [ [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/6669645.stm BBC NEWS | England | Merseyside | Coach denies further sex charges ] ]

Trial

The trial lasted two weeks, with Ms Lyte convicted on October 18, 2007.

Lyte's defense based their case around the fact that if the allegations were not fabricated then the mother would have informed the police earlier, and that she was merely being spiteful upon learning that her daughter would not be as successful as previously thought. Whilst being questioned by the prosecution, Lyte asserted that the mother had persuaded her daughter to lie. Lyte also claimed to be heterosexual and three confidants of the girl said that she had made a previous unfounded allegation of rape against a male coach. [ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/10/13/ntennis113.xml Tennis pupil 'accused male coach of rape' - Telegraph ] ]

However, the overwhelming evidence against Lyte, including the victim's compliance, led to a majority (10 to 2) verdict from the jury on four of the five charges (she will not face retrial for the fifth). She was sentenced on November 2, given a jail sentence of 2 years and 9 months [cite web|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/merseyside/7074721.stm|title=Tennis coach jailed for sex abuse|work=BBC News|date=2007-11-02] and was also forced to sign the sex offenders register.

Lyte's solicitor has confirmed that the defence team are appealing. [http://www.guardian.co.uk/uklatest/story/0,,-7044609,00.html]

Aftermath and criticism

The LTA has radically restructured its youth policy in light of the case. It has abandoned its policy of running 14 academies around the country, meaning children stay at home as their skills are nurtured. The case itself mirrored a similar incident with a male coach in North London.

The girl's mother has been criticised for not reporting the incident; whilst some believe she was over-ambitious and pushy towards her daughter.

Elsewhere, some journalists have criticised tabloids for highlighting the homosexual aspects of the affair, claiming it perpetuates a culture of homophobia. [cite web
last =Davis
first =Rosa
title =Mistaken identity
work =comment is free ... (Guardian Unlimited)
publisher =Guardian News and Media Limited
date =2007-10-19
url =http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/rosa_davis/2007/10/mistaken_identity.html
accessdate = 2007-12-05 ] They said that the relationship should be referred to as paedophilic, though it is technically ephebophilicFact|date=November 2007Dubious|date=March 2008.

References