Why teacher was spared jail over student fling

A junior footy coach and PE teacher who seduced his teenage student into a sexual relationship won’t do any time behind bars.

Scott Korczynski was spared jailed over his sexual relationship with seduced a 17-year-old student. Picture: David Crosling

A junior footy coach and PE teacher who struck up a sexual relationship with his teenage student has been sentenced to 19 months’ jail, but will avoid spending any time behind bars after a judge suspended his sentence.

Scott Korczynski was a PE teacher at Kurranjang Secondary College in Melton more than a decade ago when he singled out the year 12 student, who was just half his age.

What began as regular visits by the teen to his office and nights out at the football, soon evolved into a sexual “relationship”, the court heard.

Korczynski chauffeured the 17-year-old to her debutante ball, before driving her to an empty housing estate, telling her to get out of the car then grabbing her and kissing her.

A few weeks later, the former TAC Cup and Under 19s football coach, picked his victim up from a birthday party and the pair had sex in the back of his car.

During a plea hearing earlier this month, the County Court heard Korczynski was suffering a “blow to his ego” after being dumped by his fiancee, shortly before he targeted his student.

“This gives some context for what you did: you engaged the attention of a student some 13 years your junior,” Judge Fiona Todd said on Friday.

“There was an enormous power imbalance between you and (the student) at the time of your offending against her,” Judge Todd said.

Scott Korczynski pleaded guilty to sexual penetration of a 17-year-old child. Picture: David Crosling

Korczynski pleaded guilty to one count of sexual penetration of a 17-year-old child who at the time was under your care supervision or authority and faced a maximum term of 10 years behind bars.

The court heard the pair continued to see each other after the victim turned 18 and graduated, before she ended the relationship some months later.

The woman reported her former teacher to police in 2017 but he was not charged until 2020.

In sentencing the former teacher to 19 months’ jail, wholly suspended for three years, Judge Todd said any so-called “consent” from the then-teen was “fiction” and “irrelevant”.


Judge Todd said Korczynski was aware his conduct was wrong, as he had been warned by other teachers about his behaviour and had encouraged his victim to bring a classmate along to their meetings to act as a “decoy”.

“These things demonstrate your awareness of the wrongfulness of your conduct and your persistence in the face of that understanding,” she said.

In a victim impact statement, the woman, now aged in her 30s, said she was plagued by feelings of “intense shame and embarrassment” and the offending has since poisoned many of her relationships.

“She can now reflect … at the time she was actually a very vulnerable young girl who was mistreated by you in a very serious way,” Judge Todd said.


“None of it was her fault, this is what you did to her,” she said.


In sentencing Korczynski, Judge Todd took into account his guilty plea and character references from supportive family members and peers.


Judge Todd also accepted the father-of-two will never be permitted to teach or coach junior football again – two passions in his life.


Suspended sentences are only applicable to crimes committed prior to 2014.