A teacher from Central Queensland has been barred from the classroom indefinitely after a tribunal found she groomed a drug-addicted teenage student and flew her across state lines to enact violent sexual fantasies.
Predatory Grooming of a Vulnerable Teen
The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal (QCAT) heard how the teacher, referred to as WLR, targeted the girl while she was on suicide watch. The teenager, once an academic high achiever with many friends, saw her life deteriorate after she became addicted to marijuana.
WLR, who was in her early twenties at the time, worked at the girl's school in Rockhampton. She escalated her abuse through inappropriate touching, sending messages, and giving the vulnerable student gifts.
Interstate Abuse and Coercive Control
The situation intensified dramatically after WLR moved with her transgender partner to South Australia. The teacher purchased a plane ticket for the student, who was a virgin, and invited her to stay at her home, instructing her to lie about the address.
Once there, the teenager was pressured into participating in a series of degrading sexual acts. These included scenarios involving a strap-on dildo, threesomes, and role-playing incest and teacher-student fantasies. The tribunal heard that WLR's partner had a 'daddy fetish' involving violent 'rape scenarios', which left the girl screaming in pain.
The pair encouraged her to use alcohol and drugs to make the sexual conduct they demanded less painful for her. When she refused their demands, she was made to feel guilty and feared being thrown out of the home.
Tribunal's Damning Verdict and Lifetime Ban
QCAT members Barbara Kent, Karen Garner, and Richard English ruled that WLR 'engaged in sustained predatory behaviour having a life-changing impact on the victim'. They highlighted the 'significant power imbalance' that WLR was fully aware of and deliberately exploited.
The tribunal noted that WLR showed no insight or remorse, continuing to work as a teacher while maintaining the abusive relationship. She even lied to police who visited the South Australian home, denying any knowledge of the teenager.
WLR did not respond to the allegations or submit any material to QCAT. Consequently, the tribunal accepted the evidence from the Queensland College of Teachers as 'unchallenged' and the 'best evidence available'.
While her registration had lapsed previously due to unpaid fees, QCAT used its powers to impose a fresh prohibition. The panel stated her behaviour was 'abhorrent' and had 'damaged the reputation of the profession', concluding she posed an 'unacceptable risk of harm to children'.
The final order prohibits WLR indefinitely from reapplying for registration or permission to teach.
