No immediate closure for SA victim after Aussie sex pest coach dies in custody

The death in custody of former Australian national junior swimming coach John Wright does not bring any immediate closure for his alleged SA victim Anthony Rocchi.

Wright, 79, was arrested last year after the Australian publication ABC published allegations that he sexually abused five boys he coached in Australia and abroad in the 1980s and 1990s. Rocchi was among them. 

According to ABC, a Queensland correctional services spokesperson confirmed Wright’s death on November 1.

Wright was the focus of several ABC investigations last year which uncovered allegations that he sexually abused boys he trained at two Queensland pools in the 1980s. 

One of them, the Aussie Olympian Shane Lewis, complained to Swimming Australia in 2016 that he had been sexually abused by the coach when he was between 11 and 13 years old.

Lewis died in 2021, and his family reportedly believes it was suicide.

After the ABC story was published, the Queensland Police put together a task team to investigate the allegations against White.

He was later arrested in Western Australia and extradited to Queensland, where he was supposed to stand trial on nine charges of indecent treatment of a child and one count of common assault.

Wright did not arrive for his first court appearance in Brisbane due to alleged medical issues. The court, according ABC, then heard he had been taken to hospital with chest pains.

In February of this year he was charged with 20 more offences as more complainants made their voices heard.

Rocchi was first interviewed by ABC last year about the abuse.

“I suppose his death brings closure of some sort, Rocchi told TimesLIVE Premium on Wednesday. “It is not ideal, but over time I learnt that to secure justice in these sorts of cases is hard.”

He doesn’t know if Wright died from natural causes.

“I know he was suffering from chest pains when he was supposed to appear in court the first time. I have reached out to people connected to the story in Australia to try to find out.”

Wright was based in SA for several years in the 1990s, where he trained children.

Rocchi first met Wright at the Hillcrest swimming pool in Durban in 1991.

They met later in 1998.

“I had taken a year off from swimming to finish my schooling, but in 1998 I decided to swim competitively again. I had a year left to prepare myself for the world champs in Hong Kong. Wright said he would help me, but I had to move to Durban, which I did.”

One afternoon after practice Rocchi accompanied the coach home.

“We watched swimming videos as part of my preparation. When it became dark I realised he was not going to take me home,” Rocchi says.

He thought he would sleep on the couch, but claims his coach had other plans.

“He said I had to share his bed like all his other champions had done at some point in the past. That is when I realised his coaching came at a price.

“Over the course of the next six months he sexually assaulted me on average twice a week. This happened before and after swimming competitions as well as before the trials for the world champs,” Rocchi says.

He said that by the end of 1998 he couldn’t handle the situation any more and retired from competitive swimming at the age 18.

“When I heard about his death, there was no immediate thought that struck me. I guess I am still processing it. For now, the fact that Wright died in disgrace is enough for me,” Rocchi said.