Former teacher Vasilious Kafataris faces trial for grooming children for sexual activity, indecent assault

A former southwest Sydney schoolteacher on trial has pleaded guilty to two charges but is defending allegations he groomed children for sex.

Ex teacher Vasilious Kafataris.

Former English teacher Vasilious Kafataris has pleaded guilty to two charges during a trial in which he is defending allegations he groomed children for sex.

Kafataris was charged after the State Crime Command’s Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives began investigating him in April 2021 following reports he sexually touched a 17-year-old girl.

The case involves four alleged victims from incidents that occurred in southwest Sydney between January 2013 and April 2021.

At Parramatta District Court this week, 55-year-old Kafataris pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually touching a person between 17 and 18 years under special care.

He is fighting other charges after pleading not guilty to common assault, two counts of grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and indecently assaulting a person under 16 years of age. A total of 26 witnesses are due to give evidence.

Vasilious Kafataris faces trial three years after his arrest.

On Thursday a jury heard one witness give evidence about Kafataris being “agitated” in 2007 after a teenage girl had left her mobile phone in a taxi.

The woman recalled Kafataris was “pacing, mumbling a little bit” and had made a comment about photos on the phone.

“This didn’t seem right,’’ the witness said.

Kafataris’ barrister Rory McCrudden suggested to the woman she was lying in her statement, however she told the court she was being honest.

“I guess the inference being there might have been photos on the phone that weren’t appropriate,’’ she said. “It could have been anything.’’

Another witness told the court there “were probably two incidents that were cause for some concern” – including the first in 2006 when he allegedly saw two teenage girls appear as if they were getting in or out of Kafataris’ car.

The jury heard the man told Kafataris it was inappropriate.

“He assured me he was getting something out of the car,’’ the witness said.

“I spoke to him about the appropriateness.”

The second alleged incident was when a mother answered her daughter’s phone and learned Kafataris was calling her.

The girl was the same person who allegedly left her phone in the taxi before the driver returned the mobile phone to her mother.

The trial before Judge Andrew Colefax continues and is expected to take four weeks.