Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Breaking News

Former Aussie Maccabi Coach Jailed for Sexually Abusing Girls

A former coach of a Maccabi basketball team in Australia was sentenced to eight years in prison for sexually abusing four girls more than a decade ago.

Shannon Francis, who is not Jewish, was sentenced Wednesday by County Court of Victoria Judge Meryl Sexton. Francis must serve at least 5 1/2 years before he is eligible for parole.

A suppression order surrounding the case had prevented the media from revealing his name or that of Maccabi, the largest Jewish organization in Australia with some 9,000 members across more than 50 clubs, according to its website.

Earlier this year Francis, 37, pleaded guilty to four charges of child sex abuse, including one charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

It is understood that at least one incident took place during an overseas trip to the United States. The incidents date back to 1999 and 2000.

Maccabi Australia President Lisa Borowick said in a statement, “Maccabi and its member clubs have never and will never condone or seek to protect their own interests in any case of suspected criminality, especially one involving harm to children. It is our understanding that the officials involved in 2000 acted in full consultation and agreement with the victims and their families.”

Manny Waks, founder of Tzedek, an organization for victims and survivors of Jewish child sex abuse in Australia, welcomed the news.

“It highlights the fact that the scourge of child sexual abuse is not confined to one specific segment of the Jewish community,” he said. “Just as within the broader society, child sexual abuse is prevalent within the Jewish community.”

Two other child sex abuse cases involving Jewish organizations are currently before the courts: one involves a non-Jewish bus driver who worked at the haredi Orthodox Adass Israel School in Melbourne. Reporting on the other case has been suppressed.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.