Jayden Brian: Methodist Ladies’ College swim coach charged with sexually abusing child

A swim coach at one of Melbourne’s most prestigious girls schools was arrested poolside over allegations he sexually abused a child, a court has been told. Jayden Brian, 32, who worked at Methodist Ladies’ College for nine years, was arrested in October last year while coaching students swimming in the school’s pool. As he was led from the area by detectives, Mr Brian was allegedly captured on body-worn camera being told the name of the 13-year-old girl he is accused of assaulting. “Upon hearing the name of the complainant, the accused responded ‘s--t’ in a long drawn out tone, followed by the phrase ‘oh f--k, oh f--k, oh f--k’,” a prosecutor alleged in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Friday afternoon. Mr Brian is seeking bail to live with his parents and fiancee in Altona North and has been offered work at his aunt and uncle’s construction company. He is charged with nine offences including sexually touching a child under the age of 16, grooming for sexual conduct and possessing child abuse material. Police allege Mr Brian connected with a 13-year-old child on a social media application that would have listed her age before moving the conversation to Snapchat in September last year. He allegedly quickly turned the conversation in a sexual direction, repeatedly asking, and receiving, intimate images from the child. The court was told it’s alleged Mr Brian and the child arranged to meet up and have sex on September 30, with him agreeing to purchase alcohol and cigarettes for her. But on September 25, it’s alleged the child asked if they could meet up that day and Mr Brian arrived in his partner’s Mazda 3 sedan. Police allege Mr Brian kissed and touched the child in the car before leaving and sending her a $50 Amazon digital gift card later that day. Two days later, the court was told, the child reported the incident to police and an investigation was launched. It is alleged a covert operative began communicating with Mr Brian on September 29 while pretending to be a 15-year-old child with the accused man claiming to be 17. During the conversation, police allege Mr Brian was flirtatious and sexually explicit while requesting to meet the undercover officer. On October 3, it’s alleged Mr Brian sent a photo of himself to the operative wearing a Methodist Ladies’ College T-shirt and he was approached and arrested “moments later”. Giving evidence, Senior Constable Matt Henning said it was alleged there were upwards of 50 child abuse material images and videos located on Mr Brian’s devices, including his mobile phone and a school-issued iPad. He also alleged there were hundreds or thousands of photos of school girls, including some he deemed “inappropriate”. It’s not alleged Mr Brian offended against any students at Methodist Ladies’ College and the court was told police had been told there were no complaints made about him. Constable Henning said there was allegedly evidence of Mr Brian communicating with young girls on social media back to 2018. He told the court police had allegedly contacted a second complainant, who had identified herself in images dated to March 2021. The woman, then 17-year-old, alleged she’d met Mr Brian on a dating application and he’d paid her for explicit images while knowing her age. Constable Henning said police were opposing bail, alleging Mr Brian was an unacceptable risk to the community and had demonstrated a “propensity” to target vulnerable underage girls on social media. He said the girl was against Mr Brian receiving bail and her family was “extremely against it due to her vulnerability”. The officer agreed with a suggestion from Mr Brian’s barrister, James McQuillan, that the “majority” of the child abuse material allegedly found was from September 2025. The court was told Mr Brian was a carer to his fiancee, who was “not coping without Jayden there to support her”. Mr Brian’s father, Alistair Brian, offered up equity in the family home as a bail guarantee and confirmed he would be willing to give the court an undertaking to report any breaches of bail. Mr McQuillan suggested his client could be banned by bail conditions from accessing computers and the internet, or possessing a smartphone. The bail application was adjourned part-heard by Magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz and will return to court next Friday.