Ex-dance teacher spared jail after Bahamas cruise rape
Miklos Bolza |
An ostracised ex-dance teacher has been spared jail after raping a teenage woman during a Bahamas cruise.
Ryan Shane Hards, 31, had operated a dance studio when he arranged a tour of the USA for a group of former and current female students in December 2017.
The tour was capped with the Bahamas cruise where the then-24-year-old sang karaoke and bought alcoholic drinks for the group.
After hitting the nightclub, he then raped one of his ex-students and heavily intoxicated in his cabin.
Hards was found guilty by a jury in February of one count of sexual intercourse while being reckless as to consent at the end of a trial at Sydney’s Downing Centre District Court.
Initially facing allegations from five separate victims, Hards went through three jury trials all of which were under court-imposed suppression orders preventing the media from reporting on them at the time.
He was acquitted of all charges relating to four alleged victims, with Judge Sarah Hopkins sentencing him over the single proven rape on Thursday.
The courtroom’s public gallery was filled with the family and supporters of the victim, who was not herself present.
Judge Hopkins found that Hards should have known that his ex-student was heavily drunk on wine and vodka drinks at the time.
Hards saw that the woman was struggling to stand up or walk and had vomited after leaving the cruise ship’s nightclub.
She was not able to properly consent despite saying they should return to his cabin and then removing her own clothes while there, the judge said.
“The victim’s consent was caused by her level of intoxication,” the judge said.
“Mr Hards knew that to be the case or was reckless as to that fact.”
The single act of digital penetration was short but opportunistic and placed the victim in a vulnerable position, the judge said.
In a statement previously read to the court, the victim said the rape caused her to struggle with PTSD, anxiety, fear and shame, and resulted in vivid and frequent nightmares.
Judge Hopkins convicted Hards and imposed an 18-month jail sentence which she then fully suspended.
She noted that Hards was now shut off from the dancing community and shunned by the Port Stephens community on the NSW mid-north coast where he had operated the dance studio.
He had lost an estimated $1.5 million in income after his arrest.
He had been punched in the face by someone known to the victim in January 2024 and faced separate intimidation and personal attacks on social media.
Initially placed behind bars upon his arrest, Hards was released onto onerous bail conditions 36 days later, Judge Hopkins said.
While in jail, he had lost 12 kilograms because the meals he was given did not properly accommodate his life-threatening wheat allergy, the court was told.
He had expressed a level of insight into his offending and the effects of alcohol but was unable to identify the harm to the victim, the court heard.
Hards hugged his family after the sentence was imposed but did not say anything to reporters after he left the court.
His suspended sentence expires on October 23, 2026.
During that time, Hards will have to remain on good behaviour, not commit any offence and complete 300 hours of community service work.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
AAP
