Judge questions if Nathan Fenwick, ex-teacher with autism who groomed child for sex, is capable of sexually reoffending

Prosecutors say this pedophile teacher, who has autism, is a risk to children and should be jailed – promoting a strong response from a judge.

A judge has questioned whether a teacher with autism, who groomed a student for sex, still poses a threat to children – dubbing him a “rocking, unhealthy shut-in”.

On Monday, prosecutors urged the District Court to reject Nathan Andrew Fenwick’s bid for a home detention sentence.

They said Fenwick’s autism should not excuse him from the requirement, under state law, that child sex offenders serve their time in prison – not at home or on a suspended sentence.

In response, Judge Tim Heffernan gestured to the dock where Fenwick sat hunched over, scrubbing his hands over his ears to block out the sound of court.

“I don’t know if he’s sexually capable (of reoffending) but look at him – look at him,” he said.

Nathan Fenwick leaves the District Court. He had pleaded guilty to communicating to make a child amenable to sexual activity. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Naomi Jellicoe

“Every time this man has come before the court he has sat in the dock rocking, making repetitive motions, trying to prevent himself from being able to hear anything.

“He’s not a healthy individual, and he should not have been described as such in the prosecution submissions.

“If he has to be brought from his bedroom to the courtroom, if he’s a shut-in, if the reality of his life is he only spends his time in his bedroom and has had a significant flare-up of his autism, how does he pose a threat to the community?

Nathan Fenwick hides behind his mother after leaving court for preying on a student at a Whyalla school. Picture: Lucy Rutherford

“If he doesn’t even communicate with the people in his own house, if he’s basically living all his life in his bedroom and not communicating with the rest of the world, how does he pose a threat to the community?”

Fenwick, 27, of Whyalla, pleaded guilty to one aggravated count of communicating with a child to make them amenable to sex.

He abused his position as a teacher to “relentlessly” bombard a male student with messages and “disgusting” photos, encourage the boy to meet for sex and urge him to lie to his parents.

On Monday, counsel for Fenwick said their client’s autism amounted to a “permanent infirmity” to reoffend and exempted him from mandatory prison time.

Tania Stevens, prosecuting, opposed that submission, saying Fenwick’s autism diagnosis predated his offending.

The bulk of that offending, she said, was virtual – and committed by use of the computer located in his house.

“The concept of ‘permanent infirmity’ was targeted at people suffering from a neurological or physical deficit, which means they could no longer physically or neurologically be capable of committing an offence,” she said.

“I’m not trying to be insensitive but there’s no way of saying that, once this case is resolved, he will not return to the level of function he was in when he offended against a child from the safety of his home.

“We accept he suffered from autism at the time, and that he still does, but we do not accept that amounts to special reasons warranting home detention.”

Judge Heffernan remanded Fenwick on bail, ordered a home detention suitability report and adjourned the case until September for defence counsel to obtain an expert report.

Fenwick was helped from the dock by a carer, but left the courthouse on his own and walked to a waiting car.