A 29-year-old high school teacher in Sydney has been charged with grooming a 14-year-old girl and offering her money for sexually explicit material. Police allege the man, who taught at a boys' secondary school, targeted the girl, who was not known to him, before she informed her parents.
The teacher was arrested at his home in Beecroft, in Sydney's north, at 5.45am on Thursday. He is accused of first contacting the girl on 18 March and later pressuring her to send sexually explicit material in exchange for money. Detective Acting Superintendent Karl Leis said the sum was not significant but that the man took steps to pressure the child.
Police are investigating whether there are other victims. “We will certainly be taking steps to thoroughly investigate the matter, to ascertain if there are any other children who have been victims of this particular predator,” Leis said. The school where the man taught has not been named.
The teacher has been charged with using a carriage service to groom a child under 16 for sex and using a carriage service to access child abuse material. He was denied bail and was due to appear at Burwood Local Court on Thursday.
