Teacher allegedly had eight-year ‘relationship’ with student

A teacher has been arrested and charged by Queensland police after allegedly developing a relationship with a vulnerable 12-year-old student and having sex with them.

Kellie Whiteside has been charged with over 35 offences following investigations into alleged historical child sexual abuse.

A Brisbane schoolteacher who allegedly groomed a student for almost a decade has been charged with more than 30 child abuse offences by police.

Kellie Whiteside, née Baynham, was arrested and charged by Queensland police in February after allegedly developing a relationship with the vulnerable 12-year-old student and having sex with them. The young person was born a female, but now identifies as gender neutral.

It has been alleged, in a witness statement seen by The Australian, the school principal was notified of private messaging between the alleged victim and the teacher, with offending alleged to have continued for nine years before finally being reported to police.

The 43-year-old is currently employed as a teacher at “special assistance school” Carinity Education Southside, according to their website. The alleged offending did not occur while she was employed at the school, and none of the outlined allegations related to Carinity or anyone employed there.

On Sunday evening a spokesperson for the Queensland Department of Education said they were “not yet aware that charges have been laid against a former employee”.

A statement from a Queensland police spokesperson said “Investigations commenced last month following information provided to police about alleged offences that occurred between June 2015 and March 2023”.

“She was subsequently charged with 35 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, and one count of grooming child under 16.”

Police will allege the 43-year-old teacher started messaging the victim, who uses the pronouns they/them, privately over Instagram.

When the victim’s parents first realised the teacher was messaging the 12-year-old child, their iPod was confiscated and Ms Whiteside was confronted.

Kellie Whiteside, nee Baynham, 43.

The victim’s school principal at the time was also notified, after which time Ms Whiteside is alleged to have kept her distance from the alleged victim until the end of the school year when they would transfer to high school. But over the school holidays, she instructed the alleged victim to communicate covertly through private Instagram accounts to message each other and post private photos that wouldn’t be discovered by the victim’s parents. Over about six months, the relationship would escalate, and much of it was captured in messages and screenshots still accessible to the alleged victim.

In February 2015, Ms Whiteside started calling the alleged victim, then aged 12, and confiding about her husband and their lack of sex-life.

In March, when the alleged victim visited her at school, she kissed them on the lips.

In May, Ms Whiteside is alleged to have begun privately tutoring the alleged victim.

In June, the teacher and victim allegedly started “sexting”, and Ms Whiteside saying things like “I think ur so f---ing sexy and hot !!!” before the pair allegedly sent naked photographs to each other.

In July, the alleged victim describes “my first sexual experience” in documents, in which the victim says they “had sex” in public female toilets.

“I cannot recall how I felt afterwards. Looking back now I feel sick and disturbed,” the alleged victim said in their police witness statement.

Kellie Whiteside.

One day, Ms Whiteside allegedly asked the child to convince their dad to sleep over and the victim describes that “we kissed each other and (digitally penetrated) each other”.

“By December (2015) I believed I was married to Kellie … I believe looking back that at that time I had been totally brainwashed by Kellie,” the alleged victim wrote in their statement.

In the next year, the alleged victim’s dad saw the pair in public together, and allegedly reported Ms Whiteside to her old principal.

At some point, Ms Whiteside allegedly transferred to the child’s high school, which was reported to the new school principal before Ms Whiteside was allegedly transferred to another school.

Over a number of years, they went on trips together and continued their “relationship”.

In 2019, the alleged victim describes Ms Whiteside pulling the victim away from their family. The pair continued in this “relationship” until March 2023.

“Looking back on what happened, I feel that Kellie took advantage of her position and I can now see how wrong everything was. I believe Kellie groomed me,” the alleged victim said in their witness statement.

The Australian understands that during this the entire time of the alleged grooming, the victim’s parents had no idea about the alleged offending.

In February 2024, the alleged victim attended a Brisbane police station and made a police report.

Ms Whiteside is due to face Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday.

She is on bail at her parents Logan Village home.