A schoolteacher who allegedly molested a 12-year-old student for nearly a decade has been hit with more than 30 counts of child abuse.
Kellie Ann-Marie Whiteside, née Baynham, was arrested and charged in February after her relationship with the student was reported to Queensland Police.
Police will allege the 43-year-old’s offending began in June 2015 and ended in March 2023, with Whiteside charged with 35 counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16, one count of exposing a child under 16 and one count of care.
Whiteside allegedly started messaging the child, who was born female but now uses s/them pronouns, on Instagram when they were just 12 years old.
After the victim’s parents discovered the messages, the headteacher was notified and Whiteside stopped contacting the child when they completed year six.
But during the school holidays, before the victim started secondary school, the Brisbane teacher asked them to message her using a private Instagram account.
The relationship intensified in 2015 when Whiteside began revealing details of her sexless marriage and in March kissed the student on the lips.
Kellie Ann-Marie Whiteside, née Baynham, was arrested and charged in February after her relationship with the student was reported to Queensland Police (pictured)
In June, the pair allegedly began ‘sexting’ and exchanging nude photos after Whiteside began tutoring the student privately, The Australian reports.
One of the text messages Whiteside allegedly sent to the child read: ‘I think you are so f***ing sexy and hot!!!’.
Weeks later, the victim claimed they had their first ‘sexual experience’ with the teacher when they had ‘sex’ in public women’s bathrooms.
Whiteside allegedly digitally penetrated his victim during a one-night stand.
The victim’s father tried to put an end to the relationship when he reported seeing the pair together to Ms Whiteside’s old headmaster.
The teacher was reportedly transferred to another school after the victim’s family reported that Ms. Whiteside had deliberately transferred to their child’s high school.
Despite these interventions, it is understood the victim’s family did not know about the alleged offense until it was reported to police in February.
The alleged victim claimed they had been ‘groomed’ by Whiteside and that looking back on the alleged offending left them feeling ‘sick and disturbed’.
“Looking back at what happened, I feel that Kellie took advantage of her position and I can now see how wrong everything was,” they said in a statement.
“I think Kellie has been grooming me.”
The relationship intensified in 2015 when Whiteside (pictured) began revealing details of her sexless marriage and in March kissed the student on the lips
Whiteside was dismissed from her job at Carinity Education Southside, a special aid school for secondary-age girls in Brisbane, last month.
“As soon as the employee’s registration with the Queensland College of Teachers was suspended, the teacher was suspended without pay pending the outcome of the charges,” a school spokesman said.
The spokesman said no allegations of inappropriate behavior towards students had been received while she was at the school and that Whiteside had undergone a pre-employment screening that detected “no adverse findings”.
Whiteside, who has been charged with 35 counts of child sexual abuse, had his circumstances mentioned at Beenleigh Magistrates Court on Monday.
Her case was adjourned to May 15 for mention.
