Detectives have appealed for further victim-survivors to come forward after a martial arts instructor was jailed for sexual offending

Anthony Swanson, 75 (19.05.1951), of Wren Road, Sidcup, subjected a girl, who was then in her early teens, to repeated sexual abuse in the mid-2000s.

He was found guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on Tuesday, 7 July of 15 counts including charges of rape, sexual activity with a child and indecent assault. Swanson was sentenced to 25 years’ imprisonment at the same court on Friday, 28 August.

A Met investigation was launched after the victim-survivor came forward in February 2022 to report the abuse.

She detailed meeting the defendant through martial arts lessons that he ran from a church hall in Beckenham. The classes were run by the organisation Swanson founded in 1995, the Taoist Arts Organisation.

Swanson groomed her, before going on to sexually abuse and rape her on repeated occasions. This included one incident when he raped her during a residential martial arts trip to Bath, Somerset.

The abuse lasted around three years.

She was also abused in the presence of her mother, who cannot be named for legal reasons. The mother pleaded guilty at Woolwich Crown Court on 25 September 2024 to three counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child. She was sentenced to 16 months’ imprisonment suspended for two years at the same court on Friday, 28 August.

As part of the investigation, detectives conducted video recorded interviews with the victim-survivor and took dozens of statements as they built a compelling case against Swanson. He was interviewed twice by officers, on each occasion denying that he had done anything wrong.

In an impact statement read to the court at Swanson’s sentencing hearing, the victim-survivor said:

“When the abuse initially stopped, I locked it away in my mind and tried to forget and ignore what had happened. It was too traumatic.

“I came to realise through therapy that what he did happened, and that will never change. I will always have to live with the horrific acts of abuse he put me through.

“I am scared to bring children into the world knowing they could be hurt, abused or damaged at the hands of a paedophile like Tony Swanson, like I was.

“Swanson knows what he did to me and always has. He decided to abuse me again by pleading not guilty. He says I tried to ruin him. He has ruined me and shown no remorse.”

Detective Constable Leonora Simpson, of the Metropolitan Police, said:

“What happened to this young girl was awful. Anthony Swanson is an evil predator who thought nothing of taking advantage of the position of trust he held to carry out this vile campaign of sexual abuse.

“Based on the gravity of Swanson’s offending, we believe he may have other victims who have yet to come forward.

“We know that Swanson began teaching children’s martial arts classes in the Beckenham and Sidcup area in the early 2000s. He led residential trips to the West Country and Inverness in Scotland.

“I am appealing to potential victims to come forward and speak to us about what happened. Any information will be treated extremely sensitively, and you will be supported by specialist officers.”

Swanson was found guilty of:

• four counts of rape,
• four counts of indecent assault,
• three counts of engaging in sexual activity with a child,
• one count of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, and
• three counts of sexual activity in the presence of a child.

Any victim-survivors or anyone with information that could assist officers is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 1652/26AUG26 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.