Former Bowral High School teacher Alexander Manojlovic, 40, fronts Goulburn Court on sex charges
A 40-year-old teacher has fronted court accused of a sex attack on a teenage girl where he allegedly said to her “you like older men, you’ve got daddy issues”.
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Former Bowral High School teacher Alexander Manojlovic had a reputation for being “cool” and was dating a former student when he got “absolutely blotto” and allegedly raped a girl on the couch at his parent’s house in Colo Vale, a court has heard.
Manojlovic, 40, of Berrima in the Southern Highlands, fronted Goulburn District Court on Tuesday for the first day of his trial on a string of child sex charges.
He has pleaded not guilty.
Crown Prosecutor Nerissa Keay told jurors the alleged victim, then 17, was on close terms with the music, drama and English teacher, who confided in her about the breakdown of his marriage and about his new girlfriend, a former student.
“If she saw him outside of school she would say ‘hi’,” Ms Keay said.
Manojlovic at one point wrote the alleged victim a note when she was feeling low which said, ‘cheer up, beautiful’.
The jury would also hear evidence that Manojlovic sent the girl a message on Instagram inviting her to his house to “watch the footy” if she didn’t want to be at home.
One night in late March, 2017, an “absolutely blotto” Manojlovic — who later told police he had drunk “five or six” bottles of wine, plus spirits — asked the girl for a ride home from his parents house in Colo Vale and hugged her when she arrived, Ms Keay said.
Inside, Ms Keay said Manojlovic moved onto the sofa his alleged victim was sitting on, only for her to push him away “three or four times” and say “no, don’t, stop, I have a boyfriend”, when he began making advances.
The victim would give evidence Manojlovic said: “I just want to cuddle”.
“Mr Manojlovic said, ‘just relax, I can feel you’re really tense’,” Ms Keay said.
He also allegedly said “I know you like older guys, you’ve got daddy issues”, to which the girl replied, “I do like older guys, just not 20 years older”.
Midway through the alleged attack, Manojlovic stopped and said, “I can’t do this, I’m with (the former student), I’ve cheated on her” and then said to his alleged victim “Can you sleep over? I need someone to hold me.”
The girl went home and showered, and felt “weak and gross,” Ms Keay said.
In an interview with police, Manojlovic said he was a “chronic alcoholic” and admitted to “some intimacy” including performing oral sex on the girl.
He told police the girl was a “happy and willing participant”, Ms Keay said he stopped because he “realised how wrong his actions were”.
He denied keeping the girls car keys from her and locking the door, saying he “did not believe he would have been able to walk to the door”, Ms Keay said.
Manojlovic’s barrister, Ian Lloyd, QC, told jurors the girl went through a period of being “quite naughty” at school and Manojlovic was “quite kind to her”.
“Contrary to the prosecution case, it’s the defence case that all the sexual activity that took place that night in the house of my client’s parents was consensual,” Mr Lloyd said.
“It’s the defence case that (the alleged victim) wanted to go to the house.”
After he was arrested, Manojlovic spoke willingly with police.
“You’ll hear him say in that video (of the police interview) that whilst they were engaged in intercourse he immediately regretted what he was doing, because he shouldn’t be having sexual intercourse with a student, not because it’s a crime but because it’s against a code of conduct for a schoolteacher at a high school,” Mr Lloyd said.
“This court is not a court of morals.”
The trial continues before Judge Mark Williams and a jury.