by Keith Hunt

A sports coach has denied molesting a boy while carrying out an examination involving mobility tests.

Chris Bowman claimed the 11-year-old athlete pulled down his own shorts after telling him he had a problem with his testicles.

“He mentioned going to the doctor about it,” the 48-year-old coach told Maidstone Crown Court. “He said he had to wear a different style of underpants.

“He took his underpants and other layers down and showed me his genital area. I pulled them back up and said: ‘I don’t think your mother would be very happy about that.’

“It was said in a loud voice. I was trying to remain calm. I explained all we needed to measure his development was to measure his height once a month.”

Bowman, who coaches in Medway and Maidstone, admitted he did not follow a code of practice advising not to be alone with a child.

“I knew what was on the best practice list, but common practice does not match the best practice list,” he said.

Bowman, of Reinden Grove, Downswood, Maidstone, denies sexual assault on a child under 13.

The prosecution alleges Bowman asked the boy about puberty and then pulled his shorts down, stared at his genitals and touched him.

The boy, who cannot be identified, claimed Bowman told him not to tell his parents.

Bowman, who mentored decathlon Olympic hopeful Martin Brockman, said in evidence there had never been any complaint about him in the 28 years he had been coaching.

On the day of the alleged offence in Gillingham in October last year, Bowman said he suggested to the boy they could use the time to measure his height and do mobility tests.

“I would expect the mobility tests to last 10-20 minutes,” he told the jury of seven men and five women. “They are tests done on a physiotherapist’s bench. We went to the changing area where there is a bench.

“We used a physio bench to do a Mobilis test. There are 21 positions. I would normally start with a set of exercises on the bench. The first thing was to measure height.

“Then he was on the bench. I was trying to focus him on doing exercises. The conversation turned to the topic of puberty. I explained that different athletes grow at different rates.”

It was then, he said, that the boy mentioned his problem and pulled down his shorts.

“I didn’t say any more to him about it,” he continued. “I did give feedback that he would be pre-puberty and he should be patient.”

The trial continues.