Devon martial arts coach guilty of campaign of sex abuse against girls
A martial arts instructor from Brixham has been found guilty of a 30-year campaign of sexual abuse against girls attending his club.
Derek Hodder, known as Ross Hodder, raped and indecently assaulted nine girls aged between 10 and 17.
He groomed, psychological manipulated and abused a succession of young and vulnerable victims. He used his involvement with the martial arts club as a way to get close to the girls, often buying them gifts or cannabis and telling them it was their ‘secret’.
Much of the offending started with him giving the girls massages. It progressed to intimate touching and sex at his house, in his Renault Laguna car or the back of his van.
Hodder’s victims, now adult women, described how he would make his behaviour seem ‘normal’ and they had been too afraid to stop him.
At the end of a seven-week trial at Exeter Crown Court, Hodder, aged 65, of Garlic Rea, Brixham, was convicted of 33 out of 37 offences of rape, indecent assault, sexual activity with a child and indecency with a child.
The jury took more than 12 hours considering verdicts.
A second defendant, Leslie Coldrick, aged 68, of Paignton, was found not guilty of two offences of rape and one of indecency with a child and walked free from court.
Judge Timothy Rose told Hodder he would be going to prison when he returned to court for sentence in July. He adjourned for the preparation of a pre-sentence report and consideration of dangerousness.
Hodder, who suffers from ill-health, was remanded in custody.
The defendant maintained his innocence throughout the trial saying his victims were fantasists who had made up the claims of underage sexual activity. He admitted having consensual sex with three of the girls when they were 16, 17 and 18.
The trial was told the abuse happened between 1986 and 2018 and the police investigation started in 2018 when a 17-year-old girl said Hodder had raped her.
A further eight women then came forward and made similar claims.
Many of his victims said they came into contact with Hodder through the martial arts club he ran. Some of the girls told how the initial contact was through massages or Shiatsu sessions which became sexual when he removed their clothing.
Judge Rose said the offending appeared to show a pattern of Hodder moving from one child to the next. They often went to his club to boost their confidence but instead were manipulated, groped and abused by the domineering Hodder.
One woman said he had given her cannabis and boasted about how good he was at massages. She had felt uncomfortable as his hands wandered but thought it must have been an ‘adult thing’.
The next massage session he placed candles and incense around the room and touched her breasts. His contact then progressed to sex but she had felt too panicked and confused to stop him.
Another witness said Hodder complemented her on how pretty she was when she was 13 and this became sexual when she was 14.
She now realised she had been groomed but at the time Hodder had made it feel ‘normal’.
Another young girl who went to his martial arts club said Hodder had touched her breasts when she was 15 and told her she did not have to be ashamed of enjoying it.
Other alleged victims described Hodder as controlling and having ‘a hold’ over them.
He would sulk if he did not get enough attention from them and prey on their vulnerabilities. “He had to have what he wanted,” said one. Another said he would boast about how tough he was and how everyone was scared of him.
A previous trial in 2021 had to be abandoned after Hodder suffered heart problems part of the way through. His issues persisted during the latest trial and there were some delays while he received medical treatment at hospital.
Judge Rose thanked the jury for their patience and hard work in the long case. Hodder will be sentenced on July 22.
Judge Rose said: “There is no other possible outcome of me granting bail following these convictions. I don’t have any intention of releasing you as I’ve got no confidence in how you’ll react to your guilty verdicts.”
