A central Victorian victim sexually assaulted by her teacher as a child said that her childhood became "a living nightmare" because her attacker could not control himself.
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The man who worked as a teacher for around three decades across rural Victoria has been jailed for more than nine years for the sexual abuse of his student at the County Court sitting in Horsham.
The man, who is not being named to protect the identity of the victim, was 35 years older than his vulnerable child victim who he taught in a small Wimmera town.
The court heard during sentencing on August 25, the man had continued grooming behaviour and other abuse when he moved to an even smaller school in another rural location in the Mallee.
Serious sex offender teacher maintained innocence
Judge Geoffrey Chettle told the court the man maintained his innocence but a jury has found him guilty of "extremely serious offences" of:
- One charge of grooming for sexual conduct with a child under age of 16
- One course of conduct charge of sexual penetration of a child under 16
- One charge of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16 years of age
- One charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice
Judge Chettle said five juries had been assembled to hear this case, with the first dismissed for matters that were the fault of the accused, with two subsequent juries discharged for health reasons before a fourth trial ended because of juror misconduct.
The former teacher who has shown "absolutely no remorse for (his) crimes" was convicted on August 11.
Judge Chettle told the man, "you were trusted to protect her, you chose to manipulate and abuse her".
He said the victim had subsequently been "discarded" by the man who had then watched her cross-examined in four separate hearings where she had been "attacked as a liar" and "denigrated in your counsel's final address".
Brave victim told court of abuse
Judge Chettle praised the young woman for her bravery in reading her victim impact statement in the court when she described the effects of the abuse, which began when she was 14.
"I was his little secret that he hid from the world, and only brought me out when he was horny or in need of sex," the court heard she had said.
The man was described to the court by Judge Chettle as a "perpetual liar", "evasive" and "defensive" who had "manufactured a tortured version of facts" in an attempt to reconcile insurance and phone records.
The court heard the man and the then child exchanged an "extraordinarily large" amount of correspondence.
They talked on Instagram at night before the man made the conversations more personal, "continued to emotionally manipulate her" and asked her if had ever had sex before.
The man also sent inappropriate and sexual pictures, asked the victim if she had watched pornography and told her of his "sexual conquests".
The court heard the man had driven the child to a remote bush location over the course of six to seven months where he regularly committed the crime of sexually penetrating a child in his car.
Offender 'well aware of illegality'
Judge Chettle said the man was "well aware of the illegality" of these actions and had told his victim it was "wrong" and "would have to end".
The court also heard teachers at both the schools, where the victim attended and the man had previously taught, and at the man's new school, had raised concerns about the relationship although they did not know the extent of the offending.
The victim ultimately disclosed the abuse to another teacher before police became involved.
The man then contacted the victim and told her, "say nothing, delete all comments and conversation, delete all".
He told her there would be no contact "until her 16th birthday".
The man has been sentenced to nine years and three months with a non-parole period of six years and three months.
If you or someone you know needs support, contact:
- Lifeline 13 11 14
- 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732
- Talk it Out, 1300 022 946, talkitoutmurray.org.au
- BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636 or beyondblue.org.au
- Headspace Bendigo, 5406 1400, headspace.org.au/
- If life is in danger call Triple Zero (000).
IN OTHER NEWS:
Lucy Williams
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
Journalist with an interest in telling regional and rural stories, and covering the diverse array of topics that matter to the people of Bendigo.
