Central Coast teacher sentenced to 12 years jail for child abuse appeals sentence

A Central Coast teacher jailed for a minimum of 12 years for allegedly sexually abusing a student as young as seven, will face a new trial after successfully appealing his conviction.

A teacher jailed for a maximum of 16 years, with a non-parole period of 12 years, will face a new trial in the District Court after successfully appealing his conviction.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, faced the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal on Wednesday where three Justices allowed his appeal.

The reasons for the judgement have been “reserved” and not made public.

The former primary school teacher was aged 36 when he was sentenced in Gosford District Court in 2017 to 16 years jail with a non-parole period of 12 years following three years of legal proceedings.

The former teacher faced the Court of Criminal Appeal at the Supreme Court building in Queens Square, Sydney.

The court heard the man was first arrested in 2014 and charged with 13 offences including allegedly sexually abusing a girl over a three-year period.

The victim was as young as seven when the alleged abuse began and he allegedly had sexual intercourse with the child on a school excursion to Canberra.

The man was eventually convicted of 10 offences and found not guilty of three other charges.

The man was refused bail in March 2017 and served five years of his minimum 12 years non-parole period before successfully appealing his conviction.

The teacher allegedly molested a female student on a school excursion to Canberra. Photo: Martin Ollman/Getty Images

The former teacher remains in custody, however, having been refused bail on separate alleged historical offices after he was charged last year with having sexual intercourse with a child under 10 who was suffering a cognitive impairment and indecently assaulting a person under 16.

He faced Gosford Local Court on Friday in relation to those alleged offences and is yet to enter any pleas.

He will return to the District Court at a date to be fixed to set a new trial date for the other offences.