DAVID SIMMONS SHOCKS ASHFORD AND SHEFFIELD RUGBY SCENE WITH CHILD MOLESTATION AND SPY CAMERA SCANDAL

In a disturbing case that has sent shockwaves through the rugby communities of Ashford and Sheffield, David Simmons, a 26-year-old rugby coach, has been sentenced to a total of three years and eight months in prison following his conviction on 17 sexual offences. The offences came to light after Simmons admitted to the charges at an earlier hearing, and the case was subsequently heard at Southwark Crown Court.

Throughout his coaching career, Simmons exploited his trusted position within the sport to carry out heinous acts of abuse. He operated his own rugby sessions and holiday clubs at over 30 different venues across south-west London, where he secretly installed covert recording devices. These devices included spy cameras concealed inside digital clocks and Lynx shower bottles, strategically placed in changing rooms, showers, and toilets to capture footage of unsuspecting young boys.

Investigations revealed that Simmons used these hidden cameras to record hundreds of videos, often capturing multiple boys in a single clip. He also employed manipulative tactics, such as insisting that boys weigh themselves naked under the pretext of body fat percentage testing, during which he secretly recorded them using his iPhone or iPad. His role extended to selecting and coaching promising teenagers, some of whom were academy players, for county representative teams. Simmons even took the team on an overseas tour to Sweden, further embedding himself within the sport's youth development.

According to court reports, Simmons moved to west London in 2011, where he established his own rugby coaching businesses, including 'Simmo’s Rugby Stars' in 2011 and 'Titan Sports Academy' in 2013. His coaching activities primarily targeted boys aged eight to 16, and he was known for running intensive training sessions and holiday camps. During the early months of 2014, Simmons employed a former friend, who later became suspicious of the coach’s activities.

That friend noticed an unusual digital clock mounted above a toilet and, upon further inspection, discovered five similar clocks stored in a filing cabinet. Confronted by the friend, Simmons claimed the clocks had been there since he moved in. However, in August 2014, the friend observed one of the clocks placed next to Simmons’ desk and decided to investigate further. He found that some of the clocks contained SD memory cards and all had camera lenses at the front. A quick online search revealed that these devices were sold as 'spy' recording gadgets, capable of remote operation, which he later found in a pen pot on Simmons’ desk.

Despite Simmons’ denial of any knowledge about the cameras, the friend’s suspicions prompted him to report the matter to the police. An extensive investigation ensued, uncovering nearly 500 videos stored at Simmons’ home in Ashford, Surrey, and at his business premises. The footage often included multiple boys and was recorded without their consent. Authorities also discovered a hidden camera concealed inside a Lynx shower gel bottle, further evidence of Simmons’ covert activities.

In addition to the physical recordings, Simmons engaged in online grooming behaviors. He posed as a teenage girl on Skype to lure a young boy into participating in online sexual activities, demonstrating a disturbing level of manipulation and predatory behavior.

During sentencing, Judge Martin Griffith delivered a stern message, emphasizing the gravity of Simmons’ betrayal of trust. He stated, “Rugby Union is more than just a game played for 80 minutes on a Saturday. The lifeblood of the game is the young people who learn to play through schools, through club rugby, with the hopes and dreams, which might be dashed, that they might one day appear at Twickenham or other stadiums around the world.”

Judge Griffith continued, “In this day and age, such hopes and dreams usually include the involvement of people like you as coaches and the specific formulae of body mass index testing. The players and parents who entrust these young people to coaches are entitled to and must be able to feel safe with you, but you so gravely abused that trust by abusing those boys, which is the worst part of this case. It is, I suspect you know already, why I have to send you to prison today.”