Lawyer calls for Whyalla’s pedophile teacher Nathan Fenwick to be spared jail

Whyalla’s pedophile teacher should be spared jail because his autism is “magnified” by a “complete psychological shutdown”, his lawyer claims.

A pedophile teacher from Whyalla is exaggerating his autism symptoms due to a “complete psychological shutdown”, not as “a ruse” to avoid a jail cell, a court has heard.

On Thursday, counsel for Nathan Andrew Fenwick sought to end debate over their client’s health and mental wellbeing ahead of his sentencing for online child grooming.

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.

Since Fenwick’s plea, debate in court has centred on the extent of his disability and whether or not he should be spared a prison term.

In August, Judge Tim Heffernan described Fenwick as a “rocking, unhealthy shut-in” and questioned whether he posed a threat to the community.

Nathan Fenwick appears to hide behind his mother after leaving court at an earlier appearance. Picture: Lucy Rutherford

Nathan Fenwick leaves the District Court at an earlier appearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi Jellicoe

A month later, however, a forensic psychologist determined Fenwick was “exaggerating” his unhealthy behaviours – sitting hunched, scrubbing his hands over his ears – in court.

On Thursday, Tim Dibden, for Fenwick, tendered another report from that forensic psychiatrist to “clarify” his earlier diagnosis.

He said the exaggeration of Fenwick’s symptoms was “subconscious” and caused by a second mental condition – a “complete psychological shutdown” caused by his guilt.

“That nervous breakdown followed his arrest, when he was picked up from Whyalla, and it has continued to this day,” he said.

“His (autism) condition is being magnified by that difficulty, but his symptoms are not being falsely stated.”

Judge Heffernan said he now fully understood Fenwick’s situation.

“A lay person reading (the first report) would have reached the conclusion that this was a deliberate attempt to create a ruse,” he said.

“But he has one condition that magnifies and exaggerates the other, and it’s not a deliberate attempt to fool the court.”

Chris Edge, prosecuting, accepted the additional report but said it did not alter the need for Fenwick to serve his penalty in prison, not on a suspended or home detention sentence.

He said state law required child sex offenders to be imprisoned, and blocked them from receiving any lesser penalty.

“Ultimately, the infirmity cannot be considered permanent for the purposes of sentencing, given it can be treated,” he said.

Judge Heffernan remanded Fenwick on bail for sentencing at a later date.