EXCLUSIVE
A 15-year-old boy who allegedly has a ‘disturbing infatuation’ with sexual violence has been accused of sexually assaulting another male pupil, raising questions about why he was allowed to attend a special school.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal alarming allegations of a child protection failure by the NSW Department of Education after Jacob* was accused of sexually assaulting another Year 9 boy, Tom*, between July and September last year.
NSW Police allege the abuse allegedly took place both on and off school grounds and came after Jacob befriended Tom, who has autism, on Snapchat and began bombarding him with sexually explicit images.
Jacob then allegedly performed sexual acts on Tom – so sickening that they cannot be described in detail in print – and whipped him over the back five times with a rope, according to a police fact sheet handed over to the children’s court.
A teenage boy, 15, with a history of sexually assaulting children has been charged for allegedly assaulting a schoolmate on campus
Police will allege that Jacob’s behavior towards Tom took a massive toll on both the boy and his family, and that when Tom tried to distance himself from the friendship, Jacob threatened to harm himself.
In court documents, NSW Police allege Jacob is a repeat child sexual abuser with a history of ‘constantly showing unsolicited and unwanted sexual (offensive) behavior towards other people without their consent.
“The youth has a disturbing infatuation with (inflicting) sexual behavior on others and himself,” the document said.
“(He) also shows violence against his victims when they do not comply with his demands.”
How the police investigation took shape
A whistleblower told the Daily Mail Australia concerns were raised with the school about Jacob’s behavior in August 2023 after students disclosed alarming information to their families.
The whistleblower said the school learned that Jacob had allegedly sent explicit images to peers and solicited others in return and pressured other students to perform sexual acts.
Jacob had also allegedly bragged to peers that he had been accused of raping a younger relative, which had resulted in him being removed from his family home and placed in out-of-home care.
However, the whistleblower claims school staff dismissed the alleged behavior as “boys being boys” and argued the known sex offender “had a right to go to school too”.
Tom’s relatives took it beyond the school and reported the matter to the police, and an investigation was launched.
Jacob was subsequently indicted in December on four charges relating to his interactions with Tom, including sexual assault, physical assault, stalking or intimidation and using a transportation service to send obscene material.
But the whistleblower claims that even as police investigated, Jacob was allowed to remain enrolled at the school until he was finally forced to leave in January.
During that time, Tom was initially forced to continue attending the same school as his alleged attacker before eventually refusing to attend.
That’s what the court documents claimed during that time Tom ‘(has) withdrawn for fear of being attacked by the youth’.
‘The victim and his parents believe that he can no longer go to school because of the youngster’s sexual and aggressive behavior towards the victim.’
The case currently remains at the Children’s Court.
According to court documents, the alleged abuse had a massive impact on Tom, who became withdrawn and refused to go to school
Since he was charged in December, Daily Mail Australia understands Jacob has been charged with several other offenses relating to various matters.
NSW Police, however, told Daily Mail Australia it could not comment on the police investigation as the cases are before the Children’s Court.
Education Minister Prue Car was contacted for comment.
The school system under fire
A former employee of Youth Justice NSW’s sex offender program – which oversees support services for accused youth – told Daily Mail Australia the school would likely have been aware of Jacob’s criminal background.
The former child protection worker said a comprehensive review of the child’s history would have been carried out at the time of enrollment as he was enrolled in a special school.
She said any red flags or behavioral issues — including past interactions with police — should be documented by staff as part of the admissions process and in creating behavior plans for students.
Also, she said, any additional information that later emerged would have been added to the student’s file.
But the insider said the school’s failure to implement a safety plan to effectively deal with Jacob’s sexualized behavior revealed systemic problems within the education sector.
While staff at special schools may be trained to help students with some behavioral problems, the insider said recognizing risk factors for child sexual abuse is a specialized skill that many teachers do not possess.
“Schools often don’t have enough staff with specific training to recognize risky sexualised behaviour,” she said.
‘As a result, other pupils are put at risk and the child displaying the behavior in question is not offered support to help them overcome it.’
The incident raises questions about how many teenage sex offenders are currently in NSW schools without proper provisions in place to protect other students.
Daily Mail Australia posed questions to NSW Education Minister Prue Car
While Jacob also has a right to an education, a school whistleblower accused the school system of being grossly negligent by failing to act decisively when concerns were raised.
‘The school has a duty of care. If you send your children to school, you think they will be safe,’ they said.
‘They knew. They were very aware of it.
‘But they have done nothing to protect them (the other students).’
The NSW Department of Education declined to comment on the record.
* Names changed for legal reasons
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