Sports coach Ezra Burtt jailed for having sex with teenage student
A sports coach who once ran in a state election had sex with a student on the grounds of a private girls’ college and proposed to the teen after they had been in a secret relationship for four months, a court has heard.
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A sports coach who once ran in a state election had sex with a student on school grounds while he was working at a private girls’ college, a court has heard.
Ezra Barton Burtt, 38, was sentenced to a maximum of six years’ jail for having a sexual relationship with the 15-year-old while he was employed as a volleyball coach at the college in Brisbane’s north in 2018.
Burtt faced Brisbane District Court today where he pleaded guilty to 28 charges including indecent treatment of a child under 16, maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child, making child exploitation material, unlawful carnal knowledge of a child and supplying liquor to a minor.
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He also pleaded guilty to stalking the student when she broke off the four-month relationship.
The court heard Burtt, who once ran for the ALP in the seat of Maryborough in the 2012 state election, was engaged to a woman in the United States when he asked the teenager’s mother if he could spend more time with the girl.
Despite the mother telling him that it was highly inappropriate, Burtt began seeing the teenager and continued a sexual relationship, on and off the school grounds, for months.
The relationship was exposed in November 2018 when a student saw the pair together and alerted the college.
“The school responded immediately and the defendant was suspended from the school,” Prosecutor Sandra Cupina said.
Queensland Police were contacted but Burtt told officers the relationship was “purely platonic”.
Ms Cupina said on the night before Burtt flew overseas to meet his fiancee, he picked up the teenager from school and took her to a hotel where he proposed to her.
Months later when he had settled in the US, his fiancee found a USB with photos of the pair and broke off their engagement, contacting the college about the images.
When he returned to Brisbane, Burtt stalked the girl by leaving notes and driving past her home until the family installed security cameras.
Defence barrister Kate Juhasz said Burtt, who grew up in Bundaberg and coached volleyball at a number of Queensland schools, was “ashamed and humiliated” after his offending came to light and had since lost his job.
Ms Juhasz said he had no history of similar offending and psychologist reports indicated he was a “very low risk” of reoffending.
The court heard Burtt wished to apologise to the girl and the entire college community for his conduct.
Justice David Jackson said Burtt had behaved “grossly inappropriately” by using his position at the college to take advantage of a vulnerable girl.
Burtt will be eligible for parole in September 2022.
*For 24-hour support phone Queensland’s DVConnect on 1800 811 811 or MensLine on 1800 600 636, NSW’s Domestic Violence Line on 1800 656 463 or the national hotline 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).