Melbourne music teacher Ben Heels and Tristan Cullinan-Smayle plead guilty to child sex crimes
A ex-Melbourne music teacher sexually assaulted multiple students and preyed on children.
South East
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A pedophile music teacher who filmed himself sexually violating children sent images of multiple students to his boyfriend who fantasised about the victims being raped.
Ben Heels, 34, was sentenced in the County Court on Friday to a minimum seven-year and three month jail term after pleading guilty to 28 charges including sexual assault and sexual activity in the presence of a child.
Heels, a former Fountain Gate Secondary College music teacher, sexually assaulted multiple children at Pakenham between January 1 and May 14 2021.
Heels and fiance Tristan Cullinan-Smayle hunted victims through the “theatre world”.
Heels’ victims were private students, while the depraved couple also ripped photos of the children from social media.
Heels also sent images of several students to Cullinan-Smayle.
The vile pair had “child abuse material” discussions about the images and “made specific references” to some students.
Judge Helen Syme said Cullinan-Smayle’s messages “relates to (his) excitement of seeing or imagining children being raped by adults”.
The prosecution told the court Heels sexually assaulted two students – including an eight-year-old child – during separate and private singing and piano lessons.
Heels also performed lewd acts after sexually assaulting his victims and filmed his depraved acts.
The court heard Heels sent these vile videos to Cullinan-Smayle.
“The offending was particularly brazen,” the prosecution submitted.
Heels also transmitted “sexually violent and cruel” child abuse material including vision which depicted the “degradation of children”.
Cullinan-Smayle, 34, also fronted court after pleading guilty to 23 charges, including procuring a child under 16 for sexual activity.
Cullinan-Smayle, who also pleaded guilty to possessing and transmitting child abuse material, committed his “repeated” offending between December 2017 and May 2021.
Cullinan-Smayle transmitted 637 child abuse videos and photographs which depicted victims ranging from infants to 12 year old.
The court heard some of the vile material depicted “high-level sexual violence” including children being raped.
The prosecution submitted Cullinan-Smayle committed “perverse” offending.
A mother of a victim said, in a statement read to the court, she would “never ever feel safe again”.
“We never know the monsters who hide behind the mask …,” she said.
“You have both destroyed a strong part of me … for now I associate theatre with the two monsters who stand before me …
“My child, I hope … is never impacted by the disgusting things you discussed …
“You (Cullinan-Smayle) had been committing these sickening acts for some time according to police …
“I will get my peace one day because you were callous … there is no good in you … you will never change, you do not deserve to be out on the streets and I hope you live with the guilt in your heart for the rest of your life …”
The mother also read a statement to the court squarely directed at Heels.
“These crimes may seem like nothing to you … my biggest fear as an adult was someone may take advantage of my children and it came true …,” she said.
“What kind of monster looks at a six-week-old baby and thinks of (the child) in such a disgusting manner …
“This is now my trauma, I have to deal with this pain for the rest of my life … I am the adult, I will take this on for my child, I’m not sure every victim in this situation was so lucky …
“I assure you there is so much malice in what you have both done … I am thankful I can look you in the eye and tell you you are a disgusting human being …
“I am horrified (you have family support) there are some crimes which are unforgivable and this is one of them.
“You don’t deserve to be out on the streets, you deserve to rot in jail for the rest of your life … this victims will never have justice …
“You don’t deserve forgiveness and I hope that eats at you every day for the rest of your life … I hope you suffer internally for the rest of your life.”
Cullinan-Smayle’s defence lawyer submitted his client and Heels resided together in custody and had the “support of each other”.
“He’s putting on a musical in custody I understand,” Judge Syme said.
The defence also submitted Cullinan-Smayle experienced some “difficulty” in custody following media coverage.
“Further media coverage would make his life quite difficult when the general population does or does not find out about what happened,” the defence submitted.
“It’s up to corrective services to keep their inmates in a safe condition …,” Judge Syme said.
“It’s (Corrections’) obligation to ensure to ensure they (inmates) are kept are safe (and) they are not subjected to any form of attack or retribution while in custody …”
Heels, whose Facebook profile page states he worked as an instrument music teacher at Fountain Gate Secondary College, helped at multiple performing arts groups based throughout Melbourne’s east and southeast.
The disgraced music director helped produce amateur plays and musicals.
A psychologist told the court Heels had a “pedophilic disorder” and viewed child abuse material to “please his fiance (Cullinan-Smayle)”.
“It does appear to me he has seen that (child abuse material) and liked it …,” the psychologist said.
“From that point on he’s become a willing participant, not just with his fiance, but with several other men as well …
“It’s rare. that somebody sees child abuse material and says ‘that’s what I’m in to’ … I think deep down he hates the fact he has a sexual interest … ‘this wouldn’t have happened if I didn’t want to please my fiance’ …”
Judge Syme asked the doctor if he believed Heels would be better off if he was split up from Cullinan-Smayle.
Heels and Cullinan-Smayle, who appeared together via videolink from Hopkins Correctional, had enjoyed posting their dress-up photos to social media.
In some photos, Heels dressed himself up as a blood-spattered clown and showed off his Harry Potter onesie.
The court heard Cullinan-Smayle worked as a chef and a cook in Melbourne’s hospitality for several years.
Cullinan-Smayle, who said he was “happy that he got caught”, also considered himself to be the “worse of the two” and “instigator” of the “terrible conduct”.
Judge Syme called the pair’s offending “depraved, disgusting and obscene”.
Heels was jailed for a maximum 11 years.
Cullinan-Smayle was jailed for a maximum 10 years with a minimum of six years and seven months.
The pair were both made registered sex offenders for life.
