Kellie Ann-Marie Whiteside was sentenced to five years behind bars by an Australian judge for an “outrageous breach of trust” against a 12-year-old student following years of grooming
A predator teacher who groomed, manipulated and abused a pre-teen told her victim to “watch porn” to learn more about sex before going on to commit the vile acts.
Former teacher Kellie Ann-Marie Whiteside had a “relationship” with a 12-year-old after grooming them via Instagram, a court has heard, over years. Brisbane District Court heard on Tuesday that Whiteside had initially struck up a friendship with the unidentified pupil over a series of posts and messages. The teacher later moved her efforts to private accounts, with the pupil following suit. They used secret passcodes to exchange intimate messages, and, by the time the child had turned 13, they were in a sexual relationship. Her victim told how “Whiteside” had tainted nearly a decade of their memories.
Speaking directly to the 44-year-old teacher while attending the court this week, they said they were left “hopeless and worthless” by her actions.
News.com.au reports that their relationship progressed from spending time together twice a week to Whiteside becoming “attached” – beginning to send messages over Instagram admitting she felt lonely if she did not see the child. Authorities had first charged Whiteside with 30 offences related to the horror offending. But on Tuesday she pleaded guilty to a lone count of repeated sexual conduct with a child.
The prosecution chose to discontinue the remaining 29 charges. Her victim, who identifies as non-binary, told of the devastating personal damage the teacher had dealt them, saying they were groomed to “believe sexual acts equate to how much someone loves me”.
They said: “I felt hopeless and worthless knowing there was nothing I could do to change what has been done. I was groomed to believe sexual acts equate to how much someone loves me. She (Whiteside) is a big black cloud that will permanently float over all my milestone memories.”
The complainant’s family, who also gave evidence in the court and referred to the teacher by her first name. She was branded a “selfish, manipulative, terrifying” representation of what they said were a “small group of predatory educators” in Australia.
The family also spoke of their feelings of having failed to protect their child from the predatory teacher’s advancements. Echoing their child’s heartbreaking testimony, the family said in a joint statement that she had “taken multiple milestones in (our child’s) life and stained them”.
Crown prosecutor Cameron Wilkins said Whiteside had told her victim to keep their Instagram messages “a secret”, and the relationship progressed over time from spending time in person twice a week to Whiteside becoming “attached”. She later admitted to feeling lonely when she didn’t see the child.
The “relationship” became “more romantic” over time, as White side admitted she was unhappy with her husband and their sex life, before revealing she had pleasured herself. Whiteside later told the child to “watch porn” to learn about sex, as they did not understand the act.
Whiteside was charged with repeated sexual conduct with the child, with incidents involving kissing and sexual assault over a three-year period. The first incident involved the teacher having sex with the child in the toilets, with others, Mr Wilkins told the court, occurring “while the two were driving places in the defendant’s car, in a restaurant’s car park, in hotel rooms or on balconies, (and) at the complainant or defendant’s homes”.
Mr Wilkins added: “There were various sexualised messages exchanged between the two … including the sending of intimate images.” On other occasions, the prosecution alleged the child was given alcohol to become tipsy or drunk “before sexual acts”.
The court heard the relationship lasted for eight years, from June 2015 to March 2023, with the victim initially raising concerns over what was happening after it began. But Whiteside at the time had insisted there was “nothing wrong”, and a complaint was not made to police until 2023.
Taking into account her remorse and work with a psychiatrist following the relationship, District Court chief Judge Brian Devereaux sentenced Whiteside to five years behind bars with eligibility for parole as soon as March 2027. The former teacher will never work in the field again.
Judge Devereaux condemned the “outrageous breach of trust” Whiteside had committted against her child victim.
