‘Kind of hot’: Vile message history teacher sent 15yo

A former high school teacher who told a 15-year-old boy he wanted to go with him to his Year 10 formal has made an audacious bid for freedom.

EXCLUSIVE

A Sydney high school teacher who pressured a 15-year-old boy into sending him naked photos via Snapchat has argued he should be released from jail as the boy was only a “few months short” of being 16.

Brendan Burnett, 33, faced the NSW District Court on Monday in a bid to reduce the two-year jail sentence handed to him in November.

Police charged the former Broughton Anglican College teacher after he was caught messaging a 15-year-old boy on Snapchat, telling him he wished he could come to his Year 10 formal.

The court heard how Burnett sent “explicit messages” and “persistent” messages to the boy for seven days and continued even after the teen stopped replying.

He has since been fired from his job as a history teacher at the school in Sydney’s south-west.

Court documents revealed how Burnett called the 15-year his “teen boy” and told him he liked boys between the ages of 13 and 18 whose “balls had dropped”. He also told the boy about going to a sex club and said he wanted to write “daddy boy short stories”.

Burnett was caught after he started messaging what he believed to be another 15-year-old boy on the dating app Daddyhunt.

The Christian high school teacher has since been fired from Broughton Anglican College. Picture: Facebook

The Miranda man planned to meet up with the boy in Lane Cove and “buy him alcohol” however arrived to find a group of grown men who questioned him about his plans to meet with the boy.

This type of vigilante justice is popular on social media and often involves video footage of the confrontation.

In the messages from the fake account, the boy wrote: “I probably should have told you I’m not 16 until March.”

“Can I tell you I wouldn’t be weirded out. It is kind of hot,” Burnett replied.

The court had previously heard Burnett ran from the group to the bathrooms of a nearby hotel. Security officers called police saying the man was being called a “pedo” and that the group was demanding $1000.

He was arrested and charged with two counts of procuring a child for unlawful sexual activity after police searched his phone.

Bid for freedom

In an appeal to the court on Monday, Burnett’s lawyer Vinny Vijay argued his client’s offending was not at the “upper end of the scale” when it came to seriousness, as the real-life victim was only “a few months short” of being 16.

The man was messaging the real victim on Snapchat. Picture: Supplied

Mr Vijay also submitted he only spoke to the victim for seven days and he only received three explicit photographs of the teen.

He also argued Burnett was of “good character” and had no prior criminal record prior to the offending.

The crown prosecutor argued that Burnett had not undergone any programs or therapy since his sentencing in November.

However, Mr Vijay told the court it was not for a “lack of trying”.

“It’s a matter of some common knowledge that access to psychologists and therapists in custody can be quite limited when you’re in a custodial setting,” he said.

Judge Stephen Hanley upheld the original sentence and said he believed that both offences were “objectively very serious”.

He also said that in the case of the fake account, there was “no doubt” Burnett thought he was messaging a 15-year-old boy.

“It was less serious [than the offending with a real victim] but still very serious.”

“There was a significant age differential between the victim and the offender.”

Mr Hanley said Burnett also displayed “limited remorse” for his offending.

“He was completely aware at the time of what he was doing,” he said.

Burnett is set to be released on parole on December 18.

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