Australian Teacher Pleads Guilty to Sexual Misconduct with 15-Year-Old Student: Legal Consequences and Safeguarding Failures

A 37-year-old Australian educator, Karly Rae, has admitted to engaging in sexual activities with an underage student on multiple occasions while attempting to convince him to provide false information to authorities.

Rae appeared in court on Thursday accompanied by her eight-week-old infant to enter guilty pleas to several child sex offenses, according to ABC reporting.

She acknowledged guilt for sexually abusing a teenage boy, possessing child abuse material, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, and attempting to pervert the course of justice. Her sentencing is expected to take place in March.

During court proceedings, Rae confessed to having sexual encounters with the 15-year-old in October 2024, the same month of her initial arrest. These incidents occurred at various locations throughout Newcastle, New South Wales, where she was employed as a teacher.

Evidence revealed that the teacher had groomed her victim through explicit communications on social media platforms including Snapchat and Instagram. ABC reported that she wrote messages to the boy such as, "Maybe we could have one last rendezvous before school goes back. I'll bring my toy." In another exchange, she mentioned it was "too tempting" to contact him and apologized for removing him from her contacts.

When the student suggested they delete each other from the app, she responded, "It's my fault. I take full responsibility. Do what you want/need."

While released on bail, Rae allegedly made several calls to the student in an attempt to persuade him to provide false testimony in court. Justice Hament Dhanji stated during a June bail hearing, as reported by 7News, "In the course of those calls, it's alleged [she] sought to persuade the complainant to give a false version of events." The situation came to light when the teenager informed his mother about these calls, and a cousin who had seen some of the social media exchanges alerted the family.

Rae received bail again in June due to her pregnancy. Although initially scheduled to face trial in August 2026 after pleading not guilty, she changed her plea to guilty last week. Her legal representative, Mark Ramsland, requested expedited proceedings given that Rae was attending court with her newborn child, according to ABC.

Despite the student being enrolled at her school, Rae claimed she was unaware he was underage. Following her guilty plea, she lost her teaching position and was court-ordered not to be alone with anyone under 16 years of age.