Former student teacher found guilty by ACT Supreme Court of sexual offences against 15-year-old boy

With her dreams of being a teacher now dashed. The former trainee teacher left the act supreme court flanked by her lawyers after being found guilty of grooming and acts of indecency. She had lavished money, clothes even vape on the boy, gave him lifts to school and at his request she sent explicit images and videos of herself that prompted the prosecution to note, ‘This is an adult. How is an adult feeling pressured by a kid to send videos? She could have just said, 'no mate, that's enough, I'm cutting you off.’ but the key to the case was whether the woman knew the boy was only 15, or had reasonable grounds to believe he was older. Her lawyers suggested the boy presented as much older than he was by his size, being associated with the raiders, and drinking alcohol and vaping. The court heard that was reflected in his sharing nude photos of her to impress his friends, despite being asked not to when he sent none back. He exhibited a calculation well beyond his years. He did not want nudes of himself about, but was happy to share images of her. The woman's belief in the boy's age was a point also driven home by the judge, who urged the jury to focus on the legal rather than the moral dilemma. Some of you may hold opinions about a relationship between (a 15 year old) and a 25 year old woman. Such opinions are not relevant here. When the verdicts were delivered the prosecution immediately asked for the woman to be taken into custody, saying a jail term was inevitable. But Mr Pararajasingham successfully argued that isn't a certainty, in such an individual case, securing the woman's freedom for now. The case will be back in court next week to arrange sentencing.