'He destroyed futures': Survivors speak as paedophile teacher Keith Athol Bates is jailed

Four survivors have revealed the devastating toll of systematic abuse by their former drama teacher Keith Athol Bates-Willie, who posed as a cultural mentor while preying on students.

Former teacher Keith Athol Bates-Willie (right) leaves the Supreme Court in Hobart. Picture: Elise Kaine

• “Socially worthless”: Ex-teacher faces decades in jail for student sexual abuse

He was the sophisticated and charismatic Tasmanian drama teacher who offered generations of wide-eyed students an exciting first glimpse into the world of art, theatre, and literature.

But for almost 30 years, self-styled cultural shepherd Keith Athol Bates-Willie was actually a wolf in sheep’s clothing – habitually exploiting his position of trust to sexually abuse dozens of male students at schools across Hobart.

In August, following a three-week Supreme Court trial which heard evidence from dozens of witnesses, 71-year-old Bates-Willie was found guilty of all 14 charges against him, including rape, aggravated sexual assault, indecent assault, and the persistent sexual abuse of a child.

After being remanded in custody following the jury’s verdicts, Bates returned to the Supreme Court in October to hear directly from victim-survivors about the devastating consequences of his selfish and depraved conduct, which he carried out from the late 1970s until his early retirement in the mid-2000s.

As the disgraced former teacher was sentenced to serve 21 years in prison on Friday with a non-parole period of 11 years, four former students spoke to the Mercury about their harrowing personal interactions with the prolific paedophile.

While their accounts may differ in terms of time and location, the men offer hauntingly similar recollections of a merciless predator who leveraged his carefully cultivated image as a mentor to carry out abuse on a massive scale.

Victim-survivors of paedophile teacher Keith Athol Bates-Willie have told how he destroyed their lives.

Nathan* (not his real name) told the Mercury he was an engaged and high-achieving student in the early 1980s when his life unravelled after coming into Bates’s orbit.

Describing experiences of grooming similar to many other witnesses on the trial, Nathan said he was included among a group of favourite students allowed to socialise in the teacher’s private office during recess and lunch breaks.

“At the time I was quite chuffed, because Bates was my favourite teacher and he treated us like adults,” Nathan said.

“We grew quite close, and around that time he started massaging me, and requesting massages from me as well.”

After eagerly accepting an invitation to assist Bates in the running of a theatre production, Nathan said the respected teacher began encouraging him to sleep over at his house following rehearsals, and to consume alcohol at mealtimes.

“The first time he got me drunk, [I was] in his bedroom, and he said ‘Don’t just sleep on the floor, hop in the bed with me’, which I did,” Nathan said.

“I pushed myself as far away from him as I could get, when he said ‘Come over here. I’m not going to bite you’.”

Bates then indecently assaulted the teenager, who for a long time afterwards felt a sense of responsibility and guilt for what happened to him.

Nathan said with no mechanism to deal with the abuse, he turned to alcohol – which Bates had introduced into his life – as a long-term coping strategy.

“I now look back and realise everything Bates did was classic grooming, from the slow escalation of physicality with students, the plying of the alcohol, and getting our parents onside,” he said.

“It was a tried and true method that he had wheeled out many times before.”

Keith Athol Bates-Willie abused students while working at Rosny College.

Former Rosny College student, James* (not his real name), first met Bates in Year 11 during the mid-1990s, when the aspiring actor “jumped at the chance” to join the school production.

James said Bates had projected an aura of confidence and superiority on campus, based on his proven record for launching careers within the Australian performing arts industry.

“Keith had nasty nicknames for teachers and students he didn’t like and was openly snobby about people he didn’t respect, but if you were in his group you felt very special,” James recalled.

“In retrospect, Keith was pretty much a cult leader and we were his followers.

“He’d carefully groomed us all, so I didn’t ever think of reporting him for inappropriate behaviour.”

In 2021, after reading an online post relating to sexual abuse at Rosny College and Kingston High in the 1990s, James lodged an official statement with Tasmania Police about a serious incident which took place at Bates’s house the night before a school exam.

“I had been cradling my newborn son when I saw the poster, and just burst into tears,” he said.

“I knew it was Keith, and the thought of anything ever happening to my baby like what happened to me just broke me.

“But I was inspired by the courage and strength of Grace Tame, who was in the news a lot around that time, and who had shown that survivors could be empowered by coming forward.”

Former teacher Keith Athol Bates-Willie leaves the Supreme Court during his trial. Picture: Elise Kaine

Despite the Director of Public Prosecutions promptly authorising a charge of rape against the former teacher, James said he suffered depression, anxiety, and insomnia during the extended lead-up to trial.

After suffering a self-destructive spiral during his twenties as a direct result of Bates’ abuse – which impacted his career, personal life, and sense of self-worth – James said the opportunity to finally give evidence in court was harrowing, yet cathartic.

“I have no desire for vengeance, but considering the sheer scope of damage Keith has caused and for putting us all through a trial, I think he should spend the rest of his life in prison,” he said.

Former Rosny College student Luke Leitch planned to study archaeology at university, and joined Bates’s theatre group to learn how to present history to kids, in a way that had inspired him.

But Mr Leitch, who has authorised the Mercury to use his real name, said instead of receiving encouragement and support to achieve his career goals, Bates had mocked the pupil’s ambition by telling him he was stupid and weak.

“Meeting Keith should have been part of an exciting education, but instead it became the point where my confidence and sense of possibility were deliberately dismantled,” Mr Leitch said.

“With hindsight, I can see him clearly for what he was – pathetic, manipulative, and abusive.

I want to let him know that he did not win. Survival is a kind of defiance. To stand in court, speak my truth, and refuse silence any longer is itself a victory

“But I am also haunted by the precision of his grooming. He knew how to shape young minds to see him as larger than life, even godlike.”

Mr Leitch said the process of reporting the abuse Bates perpetrated upon him stirred up powerful emotions he considered buried forever, but described the opportunity to give evidence in open court as a way of reclaiming his sense of self.

Keith Athol Bates-Willie used to teach at Rosetta High School.

Mr Leitch said anxiety, anger, and self-doubt had become the emotional backdrop of his adult life following the paedophile teacher’s appalling conduct.

“Keith Bates destroyed futures,” he said.

“He stole from me the life I might have lived, the career I dreamed of, and the confidence I should have had.

“But I want to let him know that he did not win. Survival is a kind of defiance. To stand in court, speak my truth, and refuse silence any longer is itself a victory.”

Despite his claims of sexual abuse by Bates not forming one of the 14 charges against the former teacher, Kevin* (not his real name) was called on by prosecutors to provide testimony during the trial.

Kevin told the Mercury he first encountered Bates as a member of the interview panel who considered his out-of-area application to join his school of choice.

“Keith was overly familiar right from the get-go,” the former student recalled.

“But when he started calling me cutie, sweetie and darling, I didn’t like it, and went to one of the teachers to complain.

“And they said to me, ‘Well, that’s just Keith’.”

Kevin learned to ignore Bates’s behaviour until the day his teacher’s suggestive comments escalated to unwanted and illegal physical contact.

Sad girl generic iStock Cairn District Court heard that 'punishment' started when the girl, who was denied lunch and dinner, got home from school. Picture: File photo

While attaching a microphone pack to Kevin’s clothing, Bates took the opportunity to push his hands down the Year 11 student’s pants.

“I approached one teacher – an absolute legend – after the incident, who told me the school had a duty of care to us,” Kevin said.

Kevin said even though Bates was never charged for indecently assaulting him, he felt a deep sense of vindication about coming forward after the ex-teacher was found guilty on all counts in relation to the other victims.

“Keith has significantly impacted so many people’s lives, and I feel he has revoked his right to be out and about in society,” Kevin said.

A number of Bates’s former students have engaged law firm Maurice Blackburn to lead a civil action against Tasmania’s Department for Education, Children and Young People over the abuse they endured from the trusted drama teacher.

Maurice Blackburn lawyer Elise Trower said her clients were overwhelmingly relieved that the criminal trial was over, and called on anybody with further information about Bates’s reign of terror to come forward.

“We are keen to hear from others within these school communities – including former students, staff, and parents who may have information they can share about how the schools and the department dealt with reports of abuse and inappropriate behaviour,” Ms Trower said.

(*Name changed for legal reasons, or at the request of victim-survivor to protect their privacy.)

Originally published as 'He destroyed futures': Survivors speak as paedophile teacher Keith Athol Bates is jailed