Student ‘wellbeing officer’ charged with sex with NT teenager granted bail

A student wellbeing officer who works with Indigenous children at a private school in Darwin has been granted bail after allegedly having sex with a teenager.

The school wellbeing officer has arrested last week.

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A student wellbeing officer who works with Indigenous children at a prominent private school in Darwin has been granted bail after allegedly having sexual ­intercourse with and soliciting images of a teenager.

The well known figure in the local AFL league, who is also a coach at the school, appeared before Darwin Local Court judge Sally Ozolins on Monday and Tuesday to have his bail application heard after he ­allegedly had sexual intercourse with the now 17-year-old on two occasions last year, with prosecutors alleging he “groomed” the victim.

The court heard the man, who cannot be named, sent the student messages that were allegedly “sexual in nature” and that he also requested photographs of the girl.

Dozens of pages of screenshots from Instagram were tendered to the court as part of the prosecution’s opposition to bail. He had been remanded in custody since his arrest on Thursday.

The prosecution told the court the messages conveyed an “awareness of criminality” and “attempts to evade suspicion”.

The wellbeing officer.

“Our submissions in relation to those messages is that it is a strong crown case, the defendant is likely to be convicted … and is likely to spend some time in custody” prosecutor Hana Seraphim said. “We respectfully submit that there was grooming … it was persistent, requests for photographs and other contact with the complainant not wishing to engage.”

The school has not responded to requests for comment on the status of the man’s employment.

In granting bail, Ms Ozolins banned the man from going within 2km of the school and ordered that he wear an electronic monitoring device. A non-contact order was made for his alleged victim, her fellow students and her teammates.

He was also required to hand over all passwords for his phone, emails and social media accounts to police. He is not permitted to visit Darwin airport and cannot leave the Northern Territory.

The Australian revealed on Friday that the man was also ­allegedly intending to meet the teenager the weekend before his arrest. He is described as someone who “leads by example” at his footy team and “works with and supports children” at the school.

The NT News reported he was supported in court by his father, siblings and other loved ones. His brother provided a cash surety that he would abide by any potential bail conditions, including non-contact orders and social media bans.

The court heard that the prosecution did not make submissions that there was a risk that the man would fail to appear before the court, and that he had strong ties to the Territory by way of “extensive family” who resided there.

“The allegations against the defendant are serious, and there is some information before me to suggest that the crown case has some substance,” Ms Ozolins said. “However, it ought to be noted that the defendant, at this time, is not guilty, and this is not a sentencing exercise. It’s an exercise in whether or not bail should be granted pending final determination of that matter.

“I’m also told that the complainant has already recorded an evidence in chief interview and that the defendant’s claim has been examined by police.