Former State Opera artistic director and music teacher Timothy Sexton sexually abused three teenage girls, court told
The former artistic director of the State Opera of SA sexually abused three teenage girls who were “beguiled” and “infatuated” with him, an Adelaide court has heard.
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Prominent arts identity Timothy Adrian Sexton repeatedly and consistently sexually abused three teenage girls who were “beguiled” by his looks, his talent and his charisma, a court has heard.
On Tuesday, a District Court jury heard allegations the State Opera of SA’s former artistic director had committed 17 sex crimes against three girls across seven suburbs in a four-year period.
Opening the trial, prosecutor Carmen Matteo said none of the three girls had ever met, nor knew each other, during those four years.
However, she said they nonetheless shared a “pronounced” common experience – their interactions with Sexton.
“He was already an accomplished musical composer and conductor … the shared experience of these three girls is that they were beguiled by the talented, handsome and charismatic Mr Sexton,” she said.
“They were each in their own different ways infatuated with this man … because of their feelings of affection, they wanted to be around him, to please him, to be liked by him.
“They didn’t want ‘their Mr Sexton’ to get into trouble … each girl had a crush on him, and he would have known that.
“He was highly regarded and well-liked, which gave him the opportunity – and in fact the freedom – to sexually offend against girls with what he must have believed to be a very low or no risk of his conduct being exposed.”
Sexton, 59, of Birdwood, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child.
He has further denied seven counts of indecent assault and eight counts of unlawful sexual intercourse.
One count of maintaining a relationship relates to Sexton’s first alleged victim, along with four alternative charges – one count of indecent assault and three counts of unlawful sexual intercourse.
The second count of maintaining a relationship relates to Sexton’s second alleged victim, along with eight alternative charges – four indecent assault counts and four unlawful sexual intercourse charges.
The remaining two indecent assault counts, and one unlawful sexual intercourse count, relate to Sexton’s third alleged victim.
On Tuesday, Ms Matteo said the charges related to alleged offending at Mile End, Glenelg, Thebarton, Blackwood, Birdwood, Hawthorndene and Grange.
She said those alleged offences took place between February 1, 1989 and December 31, 1993.
Ms Matteo said Sexton was between 27 and 28 years old when the offending occurred, and was working in musical education at the time.
She said each of the girls had “flirted willingly” with Sexton, but that provided him with no defence to the charges.
“These were teenage girls under the legal age of consent – they were children, and the accused was an adult,” she said.
“Willingness on the part of a child, even an infatuated teenager, does not exonerate that adult in the eyes of the law.
“Agreement by a child, desire even, is not a defence for an adult.”
She said Sexton benefited from the loyalty of each girl, whom he made feel “grown up” due to their “adult secret” and “romantic relationship”.
“Each girl describes an experience of being gradually, carefully and effectively seduced in a way that cultivated feelings of affection toward him,” she said.
“It was cultivated not just by sex but through his behaviour toward them – looks, touches, comments, little gifts.
“All very powerful things in the world of a teenage girl, especially when they are coming from a handsome, talented, charming older man.”
The trial, before Judge Geraldine Davison and a jury of eight women and six men, is expected to run between 15 and 20 days.
