Pedophile dance teacher's family testifies

The sister and former wife of a dance coach jailed for molesting children say he "crossed boundaries" but they never knew he was a pedophile.

Former dance studio director Grant Davies is unloaded from a Corrective Services van at Burwood Local court, in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014.

Former dance studio director Grant Davies is unloaded from a Corrective Services van at Burwood Local court, in Sydney, Monday, Dec. 15, 2014. Source: AAP

Although she knew he was crossing boundaries with students at their Sydney dance studio, the sister of disgraced teacher Grant Davies says the alarm bells never went off that he was a pedophile.

Rebecca Davies told a royal commission hearing on Wednesday she was unaware of explicit sexual complaints against her brother until 2013.

Davies is currently behind bars, convicted of multiple offences against children at the school they founded together 12 years earlier.

While she recalled being at a meeting in 2007 where a father and mother confronted Davies about sending text messages to their daughter (BZP), Ms Davies said she never knew the specific content of the messages and never asked.

BZP, a 23-year-old professional dancer, has given evidence that Davies asked her about masturbation and told her he was having sexual fantasies about a "threesome" with her and another student.

She was nine years old at the time.

Her father has told the commission that at the 2007 meeting the specific content was mentioned and Rebecca was angry with her brother.

On Wednesday, Ms Davies said if she knew the specific content it would have raised a red flag for her. She would have seen it as a blatant example of grooming and she would have jumped on it.

She said she constantly raised her concerns with her brother about over-stepping teacher/student boundaries when hugging children and touching them but he never listened to her.

She never saw it as pedophilic behaviour.

Denying there was a culture of acceptance of the sexualisation of children at RG Dance she said: "I was always passionate about that the children must stay as children. The culture of Grant being allowed to do what he wants and then telling us that his way was right ... that is a culture I can definitely say was in place," Ms Davies said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Grant Davies' ex-wife, given the pseudonym BZB, said that although he emotionally and physically abused her she never once thought he was capable of harming a child.

She married him in 2001 and they have a daughter. Twice during the marriage she sought apprehended violence orders against him and was granted one, but she still believed he could be relied upon to have his students' best interests at heart.

BZB, who is a primary school teacher, said when she spoke to her husband about violating boundaries with students he made her feel she was the crazy one.

She also said arguments with her husband always had the potential to turn violent.

BZB went to police in 2013 when she found sexually explicit messages and images on his computer.

"There were messages in which Grant was saying 'delete the messages so your mum doesn't see' and references to kissing."

The following day, BZB, Rebecca Davies and Ms Davies' partner went to police.


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