Jury views recorded police raid of former teacher Vasilious Kafataris’ home

A jury was shown footage of a former teacher, accused of having sex with an underage girl, kissing another teen and telling police a girl’s skirt was in his wardrobe because it was ‘a prop’.

Vasilious Kafataris at an earlier court appearance.

Former English teacher Vasilious “Bill” Kafataris told police he did not believe he was doing anything “illegal” or “sexual” when he kissed a teenage girl which was captured on camera and played to a jury.

The 56-year-old this year pleaded guilty to two counts of sexually touching a person between 17 and 18 years under special care.

He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, common assault and indecent assault of a person under 16.

Three alleged victims include a young woman he is accused of having sex with in his Bankstown apartment when she was 15.

The incidents allegedly occurred in southwest Sydney between January 2013 and May 2021.

At Parramatta District Court on Tuesday, the jury viewed CCTV footage of Kafataris meeting a 17-year-old girl at Bankstown train station twice in April 2021 before they arrived at his apartment and kissed on the lips outside the door.

He also kissed her on the lips at the train station.

It was the same girl Child Abuse and Sex Crimes Squad detectives seized a photo of in his bedside drawer a month later when he was arrested following a search of his messy apartment.

Bankstown Police Station, Bankstown Local Area Command, Bankstown generic stock photos landmarks

They seized a girl’s skirt, which he told police “could be anyone’s’’, along with a vibrator purchased from an adult shop, a laptop and women’s black lingerie.

Kafataris laughed when detective Robert Trethewey asked why the girl’s skirt was in his washing basket.

“That’s just a prop,’’ he said.

“It doesn’t belong to anyone, it’s just a prop. You’ll find a nurse’s one too.’’

The court heard the accused tell police the girl gave him the photo and it was “nothing untoward”.

He also smiled when asked what the vibrator was for, but denied the relationship with the girl was sexual.

“Yeah, no it was not intimate, it was not sexual,’’ he said in the footage.

“I know how it looks, I understand but …’’

Thethree-hour search on May 6, 2021, recorded him telling police kids “gravitated towards” him and they “are fragile these days, they’re much more delicate than we used to be”.

He was also confused about why police were questioning him about his relationship with the girl whom he kissed.

“In terms of legality, I didn’t think anything, I mean what’s the law?

“I didn’t think I was doing anything illegal. I don’t think it was sexual.’’

During a police interview at Bankstown police station the day his home was raided, he told investigators he was confused about how he broke the law but said it was “inappropriate’’ to kiss the girl.

“Honestly my head is spinning,’’ he said.

“I’m not clear, I was dragged out of bed, handcuffed. I don’t know what I’m thinking.

“I had no clue this was considered sexual. I know it’s wrong, I know it’s inappropriate.’’

When a detective asked if he loved the 17-year-old girl, Kafataris declined to comment. “You are rifling through my apartment, I’m under huge duress,’’ he said.

Police also seized proses from the aspiring writer including a passage that noted his “perverse fantasy’’.

During cross examination, defence barrister Leslie Nicholls questioned some aspects of the police investigation.

That included why officer in charge Ashleigh Cook did not interview more than 20 potential witnesses after speaking to one of the complainants who Kafataris allegedly struck with a bamboo stick.

The trial continues before Judge Alister Abadee.