Sydney teacher ‘daddy Knowles’ begged child victim not to tell UK police about sexual snaps
Sydney teacher Daniel Knowles called himself “daddy Knowles” before begging one of his teen victims not to report his sexual Snapchats to UK police saying they’d ‘ruin my life’ - now the girl has told a NSW court of the impact the filthy messages had on her life.
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A Sydney teacher, who had just returned from working in the UK, sent his underage former students explicit images and videos of him having sex with his wife calling himself “daddy Knowles” and his victims “naughty girls”.
One of the girls has told a court, from halfway across the world, she has “scars that will never fade” after his abuse triggered self harm, an eating disorder and multiple suicide attempts.
Daniel Mark Knowles, in June, pleaded guilty to two counts of using a phone to send indecent material to a person under 16-years-old and one count of using a phone to solicit child pornography.
The 31-year-old English and Geography teacher was working in England’s south west as a Year 10 tutor in 2017 until October that year.
On his final day at the UK school, Knowles handed out his Twitter handle and told his students to keep in touch for “education purposes,” documents released by the NSW District Court say.
In January 2018, after returning to Australia, Knowles posted a video of kangaroos and tagged the UK school.
One girl, a 15-year-old known as HT, responded that now Knowles had left he was “not my favourite teacher” any longer.
He sent her a private message and struck up a conversation over two days. Knowles, the document states, asked for the girl’s Snapchat account.
They’d speak sporadically, Knowles would help the girl with her geography homework.
Knowles was also speaking with a second girl, JC who was about the same age, and in mid-2018 he sent her a photograph of himself naked, exposing his genitalia.
He then sent a video of a woman giving him oral sex in a bathroom - the teenager saw Knowles’ penis.
A while later, after a lapse in their conversation, he told JC to speak to HT because she was suicidal and he couldn’t help from Australia.
Knowles sent JC another video, in front of the mirror, shaking his penis.
At a sleepover the two girls told each other about the explicit messages. At a second sleepover, two weeks later, Knowles inboxed both girls at the same time and a group chat was created.
Knowles renamed it “daddy Knowles & His Naughty Girls. JC asked him to send one of his videos and, when Knowles sent a video of him masturbating, she saved it.
Knowles asked the girls to “make out and record it” but they refused.
The videos Knowles sent to HT showed him masturbating on numerous occasions - on one occasion he asked for something in return.
Knowles: Oh aren’t you going to return it?
HT: With what?
Knowles: Of you
HT sent back a non-sexual ‘selfie’.
Knowles: Not of that.
HT: Of what then?
Knowles: You know what *winking emoji*
HT: No I can’t do that
Knowles: After all the things I’ve sent you
HT: Yeah but I never asked for any.
“I was such a confident, happy and stable young girl… during the first weeks after he contacted me I felt special,” HT told the court via video link from the UK on Tuesday.
“But her feelings turned to “overwhelming anxiety” as she kept the “huge secret” to protect her former teacher, she said.
“I gave into the temptation of self harm… every cut got deeper and deeper,” she said.
“If I wanted to end my pain and suffering I had to end my life forever”
HT was hospitalised and diagnosed with depression but information leaked out and she was bullied. Her attendance and grades dropped.
At that stage she hadn’t divulged Knowles’ “secret” to therapists.
“I felt as if I had to lie to everyone around me as Daniel wanted to keep it a secret,” she said.
She told the court she blames him for the self harm, bulimia, multiple suicide attempts and ongoing relationship problems that have dogged her life since he messaged her.
“Due to Daniel’s exploitation of his power and authority over me, this resulted in me pushing everyone away and not letting anyone get in or get too close,” she said.
“I know I am the victim in this case but I feel like I’m the one who is getting punished.”
At one stage JC stood up for HT, telling Knowles to stop messaging her classmate.
“I’m pretty sure she’s reported it… I told you to stop,” JC told Knowles.
“You’re going to ruin my life,” he said.
“I’m meant to be getting married.”
The school, HT’s family and then UK police were all notified before Australian authorities received the tip off.
The Australian Federal Police, in January 2019, raided the family home of Knowles’ fiance, where he was living.
The court documents state Knowles was crying and had to be calmed down as officers seized his phone and took him into custody.
He denied any knowledge of the “daddy Knowles” group chat.
Knowles’s sentencing hearing continues in the Downing Centre District Court.