A teacher has admitted six charges of sexually abusing a teenage student at the regional West Australian school where she worked, but denied a further 10 counts.
Key points:
- The alleged abuse began when the teacher was in her 30s
- She has admitted six charges, but will fight 10 more
- The court was told the pair later had an “open relationship”
The woman was aged in her 30s a decade ago when she was a physical education teacher at the school, where the girl was a student.
The abuse is alleged to have happened at various locations including the woman’s home, in her car, on a school camp and during a “country week” carnival in Perth.
State prosecutor Elisabeth Noonan said the girl “as a matter of law” was not capable of giving her consent to what happened because she was “under the care, supervision or authority” of the teacher.
The court was told the evidence in the case would include a note written by the accused in which she said, “If I could sing you a song it would be Butterfly by Crazy Town”.
Ms Noonan said the lyrics of the song included lines such as “you make me go crazy”, which it was alleged was a reference to the sexual relationship the accused had with the girl.
Risk no deterrent
It was also alleged that on one occasion, on a school trip, the door of the room they were in was ajar when a sexual act was committed.
Ms Noonan said that was an indication that the accused may have felt confident to sexually offend even while other people were nearby, and there was an obvious risk of them being discovered.
“Because she knew (the complainant) would not cry out,” Ms Noonan said.
While the accused has admitted six offences, she is standing trial on the remaining 10 charges.
Her lawyer Seamus Rafferty said his client’s actions had not been premeditated, and the development of the relationship had been “very, very sudden”.
School trip denial
He said it was the first time the woman had ever engaged in a same-sex relationship, and while she knew she was not allowed to act on her attraction to the girl while she was at school, she had, even though it was not planned.
He maintained none of the sex acts happened during school trips, saying “there was no way” his client would engage in that kind of behaviour on a school-related event.
The court was told that after the girl left school, she and his client had continued what he called “an open relationship” for years.
Mr Rafferty said the jury should focus on the credibility of the complainant, noting that she had only gone to police after his client had planned on “outing herself” as being attracted to the same sex.
The trial is due to end later this week.