Former Knox Grammar teacher procured 15yo student for sex on dating app
A former teacher at Sydney’s prestigious Knox Grammar school procured a boy to have sex with her on a Grindr date by exchanging intimate photos and audio recordings, planning to meet and discussing potential sexual activity.
William Roberto Gulson, who teaches English and Drama at Knox, unsuccessfully fought allegations involving a 15-year-old student who was a fictitious person created by a different student who told police they were using the dating app to “catch pedos.”
On Tuesday, the children’s parents called Downing Center Local Court after the 28-year-old was found guilty of procuring children for sex via a dating app exchange in August last year.
Outlining the prosecution’s case, Judge Hugh Donnelly said a 16-year-old boy created a fake Grindr profile with a profile picture of the back of his head, publicly purporting to be a 26-year-old man.
When a conversation was initiated between Gulson and the profile user, the boy told him that he was actually a 15-year-old nine-year-old student who was “looking for older men.”
At the controversial local court hearing, Gulson argued that he believed he was talking to an adult because of the age stated in the profile.
This was despite him sending messages such as “Do you find it warm that you are as old as some of my students” and “I feel conflicted.”
Donnelly said the boy sent five photographs of a 15-year-old boy’s face as the pair discussed his age, school, sexual experience and “sexual activity that could be undertaken”.
They discussed meeting up later and Gulson said he could pick up the boy from his house if he sneaked out.
During three voicemail exchanges, the boy sent a photo of his ninth-grade classmate and discussed possible sexual activity with them.
Gulson stated that even after these conversations, he still believed he was talking to a man in his 20s.
In sentencing Gulson, Donnelly said there was “overwhelming evidence” that he thought he was talking to a 15-year-old boy, establishing that finding beyond a reasonable doubt.
He said Gulson’s explanation was “inherently improbable and implausible”, given the boy’s repeated admissions about his age and the former teacher’s testimony was “unconvincing”.
The court also heard Gulson searched for “gay child porn” nine days before his arrest.
As Donnelly read the sentence, Gulson looked at the man sitting next to him and held his hand.
Following Gulson’s arrest in September, Knox Grammar principal Scott James wrote to parents saying “the alleged exchange occurred outside school hours and facilities and did not involve any of the school’s IT equipment.”
“When this situation was brought to our attention, the teacher involved was immediately suspended and terminated,” said the principal of the school, which charges up to $45,000 annually.
Support is available from: National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Domestic Violence Counseling Service From (1800RESPECT) 1800 737 732.
More to come.
