Teacher Christopher Wright Stain abused teenage student for more than a year in 1980s, District Court told

A teacher who groomed and abused a teenage girl went on to teach at numerous other SA schools, a court has heard.

Christopher Stain, a former teacher who worked at numerous schools, leaves the Adelaide District Court after hearing sentencing submissions for sexually abusing a student. NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

A schoolteacher who groomed and abused a teenage student for more than a year went on to work at numerous schools across South Australia as a relief teacher, a court has heard.

Christopher Wright Stain, 67, pleaded guilty to persistent sexual exploitation of a child for his crimes against the victim in 1982-3.

Stain was teaching at a country high school and also running Bible study classes when he began abusing the student.

Christopher Stain in 2012 when he was working as a relief teacher at numerous schools across South Australia.

He was married and had children, though the relationship would later fail when Stain confessed his offending to his wife.

On Tuesday, prosecutor Mark Alessandrini read a victim impact statement on behalf of the woman, now aged in her early 50s.

“The relationship began supposedly innocently enough, he seemed to take a genuine care and interest in me,” she wrote.

“As my teacher he had a great deal of power over me and I was brought up to listen to and respect adults.

“As a child it was so hard to juggle the emotional load of trying to please him while also knowing the relationship was wrong.”

The victim wrote that Stain had told her they were “married in God’s eyes” because they had had sex.

“I was even more conflicted as following what God would want was very important to me,” she wrote.

“I questioned myself relentlessly: ‘how did I let this happen?’”

“But now I can answer the question and release myself from self-torment: ‘I didn’t let it happen, he did’.”

The court heard that Stain sexually abused the girl at least 20 times over more than a year when he was his student.

Christopher Stain, a former teacher who worked at numerous schools, leaves the Adelaide District Court after hearing sentencing submissions for sexually abusing a student. NCA NewsWire / Emma Brasier

An Education Dept spokeswoman was not able to shed light on how many and which schools Stain had worked at in the years since the offending but said affected schools had been notified.

“Letters were sent to parents/caregivers at a number of school communities to inform them of the former staff member’s guilty plea in October 2020 in line with the Debelle protocols,” she said.

“Given that legal proceedings remain ongoing, we are not in a position to provide further detail regarding this matter.”

Craig Caldicott, for Stain, said his client had lived for decades with the shame and guilt of his offending and was a low risk of reoffending.

Despite confessing to his wife and others, Stain was not charged until 2020 and spent decades as a teacher, including 11 years as a relief teacher at multiple schools.

Mr Caldicott said Stain had been the secretary of a northern suburbs church until his arrest.

“He is a very Christian man, but that doesn’t mean he can’t fall from grace,” he said.

Stain called the matter on early in the magistrates court to enter a guilty plea before new legislation reducing sentencing discounts came into force, entitling him to a 40 per cent reduction on his sentence.

Mr Alessandrini said the prosecution case was strong and asked Judge Joana Fuller to give less than the full 40 per cent discount.

“In my submission this is not a case of Stain succumbing to temptation,” he said.

“On (the victim’s) statements, there is an element of grooming and predation.

“She was a vulnerable child and as her teacher she was supposed to protect and teach her, yet he used that position to abuse her sexually.”

Judge Fuller ordered that a report be prepared on whether the state’s prisons would be able to accommodate Stain’s medical needs.

He will appear in court again in April.