A high-level former Melbourne swimming coach used his position of trust to spank and tickle a 12-year-old pupil.
Anthony Ronald O'Donnell, 47, has now been convicted of two counts of indecent assault, but will not go to jail.
He was ordered on Thursday to perform 300 hours of unpaid work while serving a community corrections order of two years for his offending against the girl.
Magistrate Lance Martin said the offending was serious, but did not involve skin-on-skin contact, and a community corrections order was appropriate.
He said O'Donnell's relationship with the girl extended beyond that of coach and pupil, and he had abused the girl and her mother's friendship and trust.
"You used your relationship with the complainant, your coach-pupil relationship, to manipulate the situation to bring about a situation where you were alone with her," Magistrate Martin said.
Magistrate Martin said he was impressed by the victim who said she had not come forward about the inappropriate behaviour because she wanted O'Donnell jailed, but to ensure what happened to her didn't happen to another child.
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