Wagga District Court: former Riverina teacher Brendan Royce Gale sentenced to jail for sex with student
A former teacher is now behind bars for having sex with a student twice. The judge has slammed the offender, saying “it simply beggars belief” and that it was a “very substantial breach of trust”.
The Wagga News
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A former teacher in the Riverina has been slammed by a judge and sentenced to a maximum 20 months’ jail for having sex with a student twice because of “longstanding” marriage issues with his wife.
Brendan Royce Gale, 42, appeared in Wagga District Court on Friday for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of sexual intercourse with a person aged 16-18 under special care.
Court documents state he committed the offences between February and September in 2018.
The first time they had sex was before the half-yearly exams after Gale took her to his house, while the second time was at the victim’s grandparents’ house.
In the first instance, he parked near her house to avoid her parents knowing.
Before the offences, Gale and the victim met twice per week and he sent her messages, including “good morning, beautiful”.
Police were only notified of the offences when Gale’s then wife found Instagram messages on his mobile phone.
Forensic examinations of the phone showed social media messages between him and the victim, court documents state.
In his remarks on Friday, Judge Gordon Lerve said it “was entirely inappropriate for the offender to have engaged in the conduct that he did with the victim in this matter”.
“The offending in this matter illustrates a very substantial breach of trust given the position of the offender in relation to the victim,” he said.
“It simply beggars belief that the offender apparently thought it was acceptable to have an ongoing sexual relationship with someone in the victim’s position.”
“Teachers have a truly awesome responsibility. They have a responsibility to teach, nurture and encourage young minds.”
During the sentencing hearing on March 13, the court heard in a psychological report tendered as evidence, Gale had “longstanding marriage difficulties and intimacy not being met from his wife” that left him vulnerable to having an affair.
During the hearing, Gale was called to give evidence and said he felt “very guilty for what I’ve done to her (his ex-wife)”.
He said he betrayed people’s trust and hoped the victim was okay.
“I used to support students who have experienced different adversities … and now in what I’ve done, I’ve put someone in a position where they need some support,” he said.
During cross-examination, he said he was aware of how wrong the relationship was.
Gale’s defence barrister Zoe Alderton had argued the victim was towards the upper end of the proscribed age range, the offending took place over two to three months, there was no manipulation or pressure, the victim consented and the conduct was “unremarkable”.
Ms Alderton also argued during each offence, the offender used a condom and there was no evidence the victim was injured either physically or psychologically.
She also told the court Gale had suffered from losing his employment.
Crown solicitor Virginia Morgan dismissed the notion of extra-curial punishment from losing employment, saying it was the “inevitable” result of someone committing this type of offence.
Ms Morgan also said the offending “amounted to a serious breach of trust” by Gale and the court needed to deter those seeking to abuse their power in such relationships.
“Community expectations require a sentence of full-time custody,” she said.
The court heard he would never work as a teacher again as he has become ineligible to reapply for a working with children’s check.
With a non-parole period of 12 months, Gale will be eligible for early release on April 3 next year.