Heidelberg and Kew music teacher Theodore Conos resentenced over child sex crimes

A former Kew music teacher who gave a teenager girl drugs for having sex with him has been resentenced in court.

A former Kew music teacher who violated three underage schoolgirls has been re-sentenced to six extra years behind bars.

Theodore Conos was sentenced to a maximum 10 years’ prison in the Court of Appeal last month after the prosecution appealed his original sentence.

When he faced the County Court in February last year, Conos was sentenced to a minimum of four years and six months‘ behind bars after pleading guilty to 11 charges including sexual penetration of a child under 16.

Conos had sex with three 15-year-old girls between December 2017 and September 2019.

He also attempted to groom an undercover cop posing as a 14-year-old girl.

Conos met his first victim via social media app Kik when he was 25 before chatting to her on Snapchat where he then convinced her to meet him in Fitzroy and have sex in his car.

The former music instructor who worked at various schools, including Heidelberg’s Our Lady of Mercy, later sent the victim naked photos and videos of himself performing sex acts.

The pair had sex on another two occasions.

Conos ignored her messages so she lied and told him she was pregnant, leading to him giving her $500 for an abortion and telling her to leave his name “out of it”.

He later gave his victim $300 if she would keep his offending quiet.

Conos met his second victim on Yubo where he told the teenage girl he was 18.

The court heard he pressured her into sending an explicit photo of herself, then met her at a Geelong park in December 2018 before taking her to play mini golf then forcing her to perform sexual acts.

The former university student later contacted an undercover cop posing as a 14-year-old on WhatsApp, telling her he wanted to meet and kiss her.

The court heard Conos ceased contact with his target for several months, explaining his family and friends had attempted to stop him being interested in young girls.

However, Conos resumed his lewd conduct sending the undercover cop explicit messages, photos and videos of himself.

Conos found his third victim at a Kew bus stop in February 2019.

He repeatedly passed his victim before asking her for contact details.

Conos created a new Instagram account to groom the girl before admitting he was 26 and inviting the victim to his family home.

The court heard she felt pressured to perform a sex act on him.

Conos then sent her sexual videos and photos of himself while he was away on holiday, prompting her to send an explicit photo back.

The pair then met up repeatedly to have sex in his car when he would sometimes give her cannabis and magic mushrooms.

Police discovered emails containing photos of “reflections” Conos had handwritten and signed after his arrest in October 2019.

“I used (the girls), I assaulted them, I raped them and I committed sexual violence against them,” Conos wrote.

The appeal judges said Conos had taken “commendable and constructive” steps since his arrest and original sentence.

“The reform and rehabilitation of (Conos) are important in order to ensure, so far as possible, that he not reoffend when he is ultimately released,” they said.

He must serve seven years’ jail before being eligible for parole.

An appeal by the prosecution had been allowed by the court because of the “manifestly inadequate” individual sentences which were originally handed down.

The court was told there had been mistakes in the prosecution opening and the sentencing judge had been misinformed of the maximum penalty on some charges.