Former ‘MasterChef’ finalist jailed for 43 child sexual abuse charges

Paul Douglas Frost, a former swim coach and contestant on MasterChef Australia, has been convicted of 43 charges of child sexual abuse relating to 11 different children.

The abuse was directed towards his former students at a swimming school located in Sydney's southwest during the 1990s and 2000s. Frost was found guilty on Wednesday afternoon.

Before reaching the verdict of guilty on all counts, the NSW District Court jury was informed that it could deliver majority verdicts. 

Frost was found guilty of 43 charges, which included sexual intercourse with a child under his authority or care, multiple charges of aggravated indecent assaults of a person under 16, and grooming children for sexual activity.

The jury took only 10 minutes to announce the numerous verdicts.

After the conviction, Judge Sarah Huggett notified Frost that he had been found guilty of the offenses. 

The Crown made a detention application, and although Frost's lawyers did not oppose it, he was handcuffed and taken into custody. Bail was refused.

In a prior trial, the jury was discharged without a verdict after 16 days due to allegations of bullying and refusal to deliberate, which the judge was concerned would affect the outcome.

Frost, who was a finalist on the cooking competition show MasterChef in 2009, comes from a family with a background in swimming: his father coached Olympic champion Ian Thorpe.