Colin White fronts court over alleged sexual offending

A former teacher found guilty of grooming and having sex with a 14-year-old student will have to sit through his fifth jury trial after successfully appealing his conviction and sentence.

Former teacher Colin White will have to sit through his fifth trial on charges of grooming and having sex with a 14-year-old student.

Victoria’s highest court has ordered a new trial for a former teacher found guilty on charges of grooming, including sending photos of his erect penis, and having sex with a 14-year-old student.

Colin White was sentenced in the County Court in August 2023 to a minimum of six years’ and three months’ jail on charges of grooming, sexual penetration of a child under 16, transmitting indecent communications and attempting to pervert the course of justice.

He was found guilty at his fourth trial after the first three trials did not result in verdicts.

He appealed his convictions and the Court of Appeal on Tuesday set them aside and ordered a new trial.

White taught at a regional secondary school in Victoria in 2018 and kept in contact with a 14-year-old student after his transfer to another school.

Colin White told a 14-year-old student he allegedly groomed and had sex with to delete all comments and conversations between them.

During conversations on Instagram, he allegedly asked her if she had ever had sex, whether she watched pornography and spoke of his sexual “conquests” in his younger days.

The two allegedly started having regular sex around mid-2018 until January 22, 2019.

White allegedly sent her a photograph of his erect penis in his hand and in April 2019, she disclosed his alleged offending to a teacher at her school and police became involved.

It’s alleged that White then spoke to her by telephone on April 28, 2019 and told her to delete all comments and conversations between them.

In his appeal documents, White said there has been a serious miscarriage of justice as the trial judge discharged a sick juror without consulting the prosecutor and defence lawyer.

The trial judge’s decision to allow the recording of prosecution’s opening address to the jury and defence’s response from his previous trial in place of oral addresses by the lawyers.

The prosecution accepted that White’s appeal should succeed on those grounds.