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After spending almost 15 months behind bars, a former teacher who sexually abused a student has a strong chance of overturning his conviction because it was based on a male-only law.
If her bid is successful, the NSW court ruling could make grandmother Gaye Grant the second former teacher to have her conviction on historic child sexual abuse charges overturned because she is a woman.
The now 77-year-old was sentenced to prison in December 2022 for the two-year abuse of one of his male students in the 1970s.
The boy first met Grant when he was 10 and confided in her about being bullied.
Starting with the student sitting on her lap and petting her, the abuse escalated to kissing and eventually intercourse.
Grant, who was known as the ‘cool’ teacher at school, had sex with the boy when her husband was not around.
After he tried to distance himself from the teacher in the late 1970s, she wrote to him and said she loved him.
Gaye Grant (pictured), now 77, was jailed for six years in December 2022 for the two-year abuse of one of her male students in the 1970s
Pedophile teacher Gaye Grant (pictured) was known as the ‘cool’ teacher at school and had sex with the boy when her husband was not around
In handing down his sentence, District Judge Andrew Haesler said Grant took advantage of the teacher-student relationship and the boy’s age and vulnerability.
“She abused her position of authority as a respected school teacher in control of her students’ lives,” he wrote.
Grant pleaded guilty to one count of being an adult who maintains an unlawful sexual relationship with a child and was sentenced to a maximum prison term of six years and nine months, to expire on September 19, 2029.
Her non-parole period was three years and four months and expired on April 19, 2026.
The 77-year-old has since launched an appeal, saying she was convicted of a charge she could ‘never legally be convicted of’.
This late-stage legal challenge was filed after another teacher, Helga Lam, successfully dropped her historic sexual abuse allegations in February.
Lam had been charged with 15 counts of indecent assault on four schoolboys for offenses dating back to 1978.
Another teacher, Helga Lam, 9 right) successfully overturned her historic sex abuse charges in February
However, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found that Lam had been convicted on the basis of a law in force at the time which did not apply to “conduct by a woman on a man”.
That law was repealed and replaced in 1984.
On March 1, Grant was granted bail and permission to appeal his own sentence over the Lam conviction.
On Friday, a court decision was published, acknowledging that the ex-teacher had good odds of overturning his conviction.
“In light of Lam, it is most likely that the applicant’s appeal will succeed,” wrote Justices Kristina Stern, David Davies and Stephen Campbell.
The three judges said Grant should be released on bail, saying there was ‘no unacceptable risk’ to the victim or the community.
Her bail conditions require her to be of good behavior and appear in court when necessary.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Recovery Support Service 1800 211 028