Knox Grammar arrest: Sydney swim teacher on child porn, drug charges granted bail

Nicholas Warby bailed as police allege he was ‘disseminating’ child porn.

Nicholas Warby, director of aquatic sports at Knox Grammar, has been charged with child porn and drug offences. Picture: AAP/Supplied

The director of aquatic sports at the prestigious Knox Grammar school has been granted bail after he was charged with the possession of child abuse material and drugs.

Nicholas Warby, who has been in the teaching role since 2017, was charged yesterday after police attended the North Shore school when a large number of child abuse images were allegedly found on a mobile phone left at the aquatic centre in Wahroonga.

A search warrant of Mr Warby’s home was conducted by police yesterday afternoon and two mobile devices in his car and two in his house were found. USB devices loaded with “material”, and a laptop in his wardrobe were also discovered.

Wearing a collared shirt and knitted jumper, Mr Warby appeared at Hornsby Local Court this afternoon, watched on by his parents.

Mr Warby.

Police prosecutor Sargent Mark Newman told the court it appeared Mr Warby had been “downloading and disseminating” the material he possessed

“There are too many storage devices that have to be looked through,” Sargent Newman said.

Police will also allege substances, believed to be 0.7 grams of the drug Ice and a small vial of the drug Gamma Hydroxybutyrate or GHB, were also found after the 30-year-old’s car was searched.

Mr Warby’s lawyer, Phillip Cox said that his client was already seeing a psychologist and granting him bail would allow him to continue his sessions.

“Since being in custody, Mr Warby has given assistance to police with a range of admissions. The full extent of those is not known to me,” Mr Cox said.

In granting him bail Magistrate Mijovich said it was likely Mr Warby would be handed a custodial sentence.

As part of his bail conditions, the 30-year-old will reside at his residence in Bayview and must report once a week at Dee Why police station. He is not allowed to contact any staff or students at Knox Grammar and had to surrender his mobile and all devices in his possession. He will have a strict social media ban.

Mr Warby was previously employed with the NSW department of education as a primary school teacher for just over four years before he took a position as director of aquatic sports at Knox Grammar.

In a letter to parents today, Headmaster Scott James said he was advised no images related to Knox boys or swim centre students.

“The images were immediately brought to the attention of the headmaster and police were alerted,” he said.

The letter sent to parents.

“They (police) have advised us that there is currently no suggestion the images relate to Knox boys or swim centre students.”

Knox Grammar has been rocked by a string of child abuse scandals with a 2009 police strike force set up to investigate allegations of historical sex offences at the school.

Kyle Daniels, 20, a Mosman swimming coach and a former prefect at the school, is before the courts facing 36 child sex charges including having sexual intercourse with a seven-year-old girl eight times in just three weeks.

“Knox Grammar School is now recognised at the gold standard for protection of those in our care and we will not hesitate to contact police and remove staff who fail to follow our Code of Conduct and the law,” Headmaster James said in the letter.