Ex-Sydney teacher spared jail after grooming child online

Former Sydney Knox Grammar teacher William Roberto Gulson was placed on the NSW Child Protection Register. (ABC News: Jamie McKinnell) A former Sydney Knox Grammar teacher found guilty of grooming a fictitious 15-year-old boy for sexual activity online has been spared jail time. William Roberto Gulson will be placed on the NSW Child Protection Register for eight years. The court heard the online dating profile Gulson was communicating with was set up by a teenager whose purpose was to "catch pedos". Link copiedShareShare articleA former Sydney Knox Grammar teacher found guilty of grooming a fictitious 15-year-old boy for sexual activity has been spared time behind bars but will be placed on the NSW Child Protection Register for eight years. William Roberto Gulson was on Friday handed a conviction and 400 hours of community service as part of a three-year Community Correction Order. His lawyers had pushed for the lightest penalty available under sentencing law and for no conviction to be recorded, pointing to a psychologist's evidence that he did not have a sexual interest in children. But Local Court Judge Hugh Donnelly found beyond reasonable doubt that Gulson did have an interest in children and gave the psychologist's opinion little weight, because it was based on sessions with the offender and without the use of risk assessment tools. Gulson was found guilty in January of procuring a child for sexual activity. Gulson no longer works at Sydney Knox Grammar, in the upper north shore. (AAP: Dan Himbrechts) He was 27 when a profile on the gay dating app Grindr struck up a conversation with him in August 2024. Although the age listed on that profile was 26, during the explicit chats the user told Gulson they were 15 and in year nine, and expressed an interest to be with older men. Gulson went on to indicate sexual activity he would perform, sent audio messages and discussed meeting up, although this did not ultimately happen. During an online exchange that lasted nearly 90 minutes, the teacher made reference to the fictitious boy's "super young" age leaving him "conflicted", called him "cute" and "sweet" and said he hoped he did not teach him. "Do you find it hot that you are as old as some of my students?" he asked at one point. Gulson was found guilty in January of procuring a child for sexual activity. (ABC News: Jamie McKinnell) The court heard that the profile was set up by a 15-year-old who then handed the login details to a 14-year-old. The teenager who set up the profile told police the purpose was to "catch pedos". During a hearing in January, Gulson said the teen had accessed an adult site and it was "incredibly malicious and vindictive for a child to do that". The Crown submitted Gulson had cast himself as a victim and had no insight into his offending, arguing that no penalty other than imprisonment would be appropriate. Gulson's lawyers handed the court various awards he received as an educator, five character references and several cards he had received from his students. Defence counsel Paul Glissan described the case as factually unique, and emphasised that there was no victim, the crime was not planned and said his client was unlikely to reoffend. He submitted that Gulson had lost his good health, his employment, his career and his good reputation, arguing that having the charge dismissed would allow him to teach again and recover from the "crushing consequences of his arrest and prosecution". The court heard the Grindr profile was set up by a 15-year-old who told police the purpose was to "catch pedos". (ABC News: Harriet Tatham) Judge Donnelly said the case was a "quintessential example" of how different purposes of sentencing pull in conflicting directions. The Crown and defence had taken "diametrically opposed positions", but he concluded that "both are, with respect, legally flawed". The judge said the case was "unusual" but the offender's conduct had "a real potential to cause harm to the child, and fortunately that did not occur". It exposed the child to adult conduct and the "degree of subterfuge" involved in using a fictitious identity did not "exonerate" Gulson, Judge Donnelly said. He found that Gulson's moral culpability was high because he taught actual 15-year-olds and had professional insight into their vulnerabilities. The court took a "guarded" view of Gulson's prospects of rehabilitation and accepted he was above average in terms of risk of reoffending. Gulson has filed an appeal against the outcome.

Ex-Sydney teacher spared jail after grooming child online

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