Coach denies lesbian affair with teenage tennis pupil

Oct 2 2007 Sarah Chapman Liverpool Daily Post

A TOP female tennis coach began a lesbian relationship with a 13- year-old pupil who was being trained at a special academy, a court heard yesterday.

The teenage girl sobbed as she told police she started having a sexual relationship with the coach who was a former Wimbledon competitor.

Claire Lyte, 29, is on trial at Liverpool Crown Court charged with sexual activity with a child.

The girl, who lives in Merseyside, was coached by Lyte at the Lawn Tennis Academy in Loughborough between 2005 and 2006, the court heard.

Opening the case for the prosecution, Peter Davies said a consensual sexual relationship developed between the former professional tennis player and her pupil.

He told the jury of eight women and four men: “The relationship between coach and student transcended the bounds of a normal coach-player relationship.

“And despite repeated warnings, the defendant continued.

“The Crown says the defendant was attracted to the victim and the attraction became mutual.

“The defendant took advantage of the difference in years and maturity and fostered an intimate relationship with her pupil.”

The court heard the young tennis player would often stay in the same bedroom with Lyte when they attended tournaments together.

They shared the same toilet cubicle at the tennis academy and shared clothes.

A pair of the teenager’s knickers was found at Lyte’s home when it was searched by police, the jury was told.

A video of the girl, who is now 15, being interviewed by a detective investigating the allegations, was played to the jury.

The alleged victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, told the officer her mother caught her in bed with Lyte on October 2, 2005.

The girl wiped away tears as she said: “It should not have happened.

“We were in bed, (doing) something that we shouldn’t have been doing.”

She told the detective that her mother was angry and had shouted at Lyte.

She said: “Mum was going to tell the police, because it’s wrong.

“She (Lyte) is in a place where she shouldn’t do that. I’m too young.”

Mr Davies told the court in the first video-interview, the girl seemed reluctant to tell police about her relationship with Lyte, but gave more details in a second interview, which took place in March this year.

The court was told Lyte denied the allegations when she was interviewed by police and said the girl’s mother was pushy and ambitious for her daughter, whose career at the tennis academy was about to come to an end.

Lyte claimed the girl’s mother had fabricated the claims and convinced others in her family to lie because she wanted Lyte to lose her job.

The case continues.