Tyrendarra Club Bans Convicted Sex Offender After Community Backlash

The Tyrendarra Football Netball Club has reversed its decision to welcome back convicted sex offender James Williams, banning him from the club after a fierce community backlash and the loss of key sponsors.

Williams, who was jailed for sexually assaulting a 15-year-old girl on a post-season football trip in 2022, had been allowed to return to the south-west Victorian club last year. That decision exploded into public view when an ABC investigation revealed his reinstatement, prompting anger from locals and renewed scrutiny of how community sporting clubs handle serious offences.

On Wednesday, the club’s committee issued a blunt admission: it got it wrong.

“We are sorry,” the statement read, without naming Williams but clearly referring to his case. “We accept we did not give enough weight to what our community rightly expects of a Club built around children, and those we let down deserve a straightforward apology.”

The ABC understands Williams was removed from the club following the media coverage.

Pressure had been mounting. Sponsors walked, including local MP Roma Britnell, and members demanded answers. A planned meeting yesterday was abandoned after the venue details were shared on social media, raising concerns about safety and tension. The club instead posted its apology online this afternoon, ahead of a rescheduled face-to-face session with some members.

At the heart of the storm is the girl Williams assaulted — a then 15-year-old victim attacked at a concert in Adelaide in 2022. The club acknowledged her directly in its statement, conceding the harm she suffered and the impact of its decision to bring Williams back into a community setting.

The committee also widened its apology beyond the immediate circle.

“To anyone in our community affected by this episode and its coverage, we are sorry for the distress it has caused,” it said.

Club leaders insisted they had followed a “careful process” before allowing Williams to return, saying they sought expert advice and consulted widely within the club. When the ABC asked what that process involved, Tyrendarra did not respond.

That silence only fuelled frustration. Parents, volunteers and supporters questioned how a club that promotes itself as family-focused could justify re-admitting a man jailed for sexually assaulting a child, regardless of any conditions placed on his involvement.

Now, with Williams banned and sponsors gone, the committee is trying to rebuild trust. It has promised a binding code of conduct covering players, coaches, officials and volunteers, with clear grounds for removal if those standards are breached — on or off the field.

“We do not expect these commitments to be taken on trust alone. We intend to be judged on what we do from here,” the statement concluded.

The test for Tyrendarra starts now: can a small community club convince its own people that the lessons from this episode will shape every decision from this point on?