Sydney’s special education school allowed a teenage boy to come to class with a “disturbing infatuation” with sex. Then reportedly every parent’s worst nightmare happened

EXCLUSIVE

A 15-year-old boy said to have a “disturbing infatuation” with sexual violence has been accused of sexually assaulting another male student, raising questions about why he was allowed to attend a special needs school.

Daily Mail Australia can reveal alarming claims about child protection failures 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 attacks 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 sex acts on Tom – so nauseating they could not be described in detail – and hit him across the back five times with a rope, according to a police document tendered to the children’s court.

Police will allege that Jacob’s behavior towards Tom took a huge toll on both the boy and his family, and that Jacob threatened to harm himself when Tom tried to distance himself from the friendship.

In court documents, NSW Police allege Jacob is a repeat child molester, with a history of “continually engaging in unsolicited and unwanted sexual (crime) towards other people without their consent.”

“The young person has a disturbing infatuation with (imposing) sexual behavior on others and himself,” the document said.

“(Also) shows violence towards his victims if they do not comply with his demands.”

How the police investigation took shape

A whistleblower told Daily Mail Australia that concerns were raised at the school about Jacob’s behavior in August 2023 after students disclosed alarming information to their families.

The whistleblower said the school was told that Jacob had allegedly sent explicit photos to peers and solicited others in return, and that he had pressured other students to perform sex acts.

Jacob had also reportedly bragged to peers that he had been accused of raping a younger relative, which resulted in him being removed from his family home and placed in out-of-home care.

However, the whistleblower claims that school staff dismissed the alleged behavior as “boys being boys” and that the admitted sex offender “also had a right to go to school.”

Tom’s relatives took it outside the school and reported the matter to the police, after which an investigation was launched.

Jacob was subsequently charged in December with four charges relating to his interactions with Tom, including assault, physical assault, stalking or intimidation and using a carriage service to send indecent material.

However, the whistleblower claims that even while police investigated, Jacob was allowed to remain enrolled at the school until he was eventually forced to leave in January.

During that time, Tom was initially forced to continue attending the same school as his alleged attacker, before ultimately refusing to attend.

That’s what the court documents claimed during that time, Tom has “become withdrawn for fear of being attacked by the younger one.”

‘The victim and his parents believe he can no longer go to school because of the young person’s sexual and aggressive behavior towards the victim.’

The case is currently before the children’s court.

Since the charges in December, Daily Mail Australia understands Jacob has been charged with multiple other offenses relating to separate cases.

NSW Police 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.

School system under fire

A former employee of Youth Justice NSW’s sex offender program – which oversees support services for accused young people – told Daily Mail Australia the school would likely have known about Jacob’s criminal background.

The ex-child protection worker said a comprehensive assessment of the child’s history would have been carried out at the time of registration as he was enrolled in a special needs school.

She said any warning signs or behavioral issues — including previous interactions with police — should be documented by staff as part of the intake process and when developing student behavior plans.

Additionally, she said any additional information that may arise later would have been added to the student’s file.

However, the insider said the school’s inability to implement a safety plan to effectively manage Jacob’s sexualized behavior exposed systemic problems within the education sector.

While staff at special education schools may be trained to help students with certain behavioral problems, the insider said recognizing risk factors for child abuse is a specialized skill that many teachers do not possess.

“Schools often do not have enough staff with specific training to recognize risky sexualized behavior,” she said.

‘This puts other students at risk and leaves the child exhibiting the behavior in question without support to overcome it.’

The incident raises questions about how many teenage abusers are currently in NSW schools without proper facilities to protect other students.

Although Jacob also has the right to an education, a school whistleblower accused the school system of gross negligence 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 did nothing to protect them [the other students].’

The NSW Department of Education declined to comment on the case.

*Names changed for legal reasons

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