Hunter Valley: PE teacher facing jail after secret affair with 14-year-old student
A Hunter Valley teacher “blurred the boundaries” when she befriended a student on Snapchat. It then turned into sexually explicit images being sent before two secret rendezvous between the pair.
Newcastle
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A female PE teacher had befriended a student on Snapchat and exchanged sexually explicit images and videos with the teenager, before engaging in secret meet ups, one while on school grounds, a court has heard.
The Hunter Valley teacher — whose identity is subject to a non-publication order — “blurred the boundaries” between the teacher, student relationship when conversations online between the then 26-year-old and a 14-year-old boy became of a sexual nature.
She sent images of her breasts and a video of her rubbing her genitalia area to the teenager, before the pair met in a classroom on school grounds and started kissing and fondling, a court heard.
During the school Christmas holidays, they also met up again at a park - the teacher drove her car while the boy rode his BMX — as both again engaged in kissing and fondling.
Their contact all happened over a seven-and-a-half month period, between the start of term four in 2018 and into term one of 2019.
She pleaded guilty to grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, indecent assault of a person under 16 and intentionally sexually touching a child between 10 and 16.
In Newcastle District Court on Wednesday, the teacher was visibly distressed and started to break down and cry, as sentence proceedings went on.
Crown advocate Kristy Mulley said there was a certain amount of deceit using an application which was “heavily used by children” to contact the teenager.
“She knew it was wrong and wanting to avoid detection,” she said.
“There was a power imbalance. There was psychological collusion.
“She abused the position of trust.”
Ms Mulley noted the woman knew it was wrong, but continually chose to sexually exploit the student, meeting up with him a second time.
Telling the court full time imprisonment was warranted.
“There would not have been a shadow of doubt in her mind her actions were not acceptable,” she added.
“The community does not tolerate sexual activity with a student and there is need to ensure public confidence.”
The woman’s solicitor John O’Sullivan told the court there would be no treatment available for his client with a full time custodial sentence, and said she was currently undergoing mental health treatment while on bail.
Mr O’Sullivan said she had been exposed to domestic violence at the hands of her father and herself had reported being sexually assaulted to a hotline.
“It appears the offender is an attention seeker, which she is addressing by way of counselling to ensure this criminal conduct does not reoccur,” he said.
“She does take full responsibility for her actions, and expresses empathy towards the victim.
“She hasn’t just lost her job, she has lost her career, she knows what she did was wrong.”
Judge Kara Shead reserved her judgment until two weeks’ time and will review a suppression order on the woman’s identity, as to whether she can be named.