Music teacher from prestigious Sydney school accused of grooming 14yo girl on house arrest after successful bail fight
A former casual teacher at an elite Sydney school accused of trying to get a teenage girl to send sexual content in exchange for money will swap a prison cell for house arrest after being released on bail.
Benjamin Collinge, a lay music teacher at prestigious Newington College in Sydney’s inner west, is accused of grooming a 14-year-old girl online.
Police received a tip that a 14-year-old girl was talking on social media with a man who allegedly encouraged her to send sexually explicit content in exchange for money.
Mr Collinge, 29, was arrested at Beecroft in Sydney’s north on March 26.
Mr Collinge has yet to plead guilty to charges of using carriage to groom someone under 16, using carriage to access child exploitation material and filming a person’s private parts without consent.
The teacher has been in prison on remand since his arrest but will breathe fresh air for the first time in more than two months after being granted bail at Burwood Local Court on Wednesday.
But under house arrest bail conditions he will be banned from leaving his home, essentially meaning he will only be allowed to leave the house on a daily basis to report to the police or for court or medical purposes.
Mr. Collinge had to pay $20,000 as a pre-release condition; An acceptable person could also deposit $100,000 in his name after his release from custody; This amount will be forfeited if Mr Collinge breaches his bail conditions.
He is also banned from using the internet or encrypted apps, owning a smartphone, and must stay away from alcohol and drugs.
Mr Collinge was also banned from approaching or contacting witnesses.
He will make his next preliminary appearance on June 3 via an audio-visual link.
Newington College principal Michael Parker is understood to have previously told parents that Mr Collinge was no longer working at the school.
Mr Parker added that police informed them that no students had been identified at the school as being involved in the incident.
