Events

Former Adelaide high school teacher Adrian Terrace admitted his relationship with the girl had become “blurred” and “inappropriate” but a judge finds his actions were not criminal.

A former Adelaide high school teacher has been found not guilty of grooming and indecently assaulting a female student.
Key points:

  • Adrian Terrace was accused of grooming and indecent assault
  • He admitted his messages were “inappopriate”
  • The judge found him not guilty but did not give reasons

Adrian Neil Terrace was the music teacher at Urrbrae Agricultural High School when he was arrested and charged with the two crimes.
The 48-year-old pleaded not guilty to aggravated counts of communicating to make a child amenable to sex and indecent assault.
Prosecutors alleged he pursued the girl across social media platforms.
Judge Michael Boylan acquitted Mr Terrace of the allegations without explaining the reason behind the judgement.
During the trial in June, prosecutor Vanessa Burrows said almost 2,300 Facebook messages were exchanged between Mr Terrace and the student over one summer.
She said the messages were “never explicitly sexual” but the prosecution’s case was they showed Mr Terrace “developing sexual interest” in her.
Ms Burrows told the court the girl’s mother found some of the messages and confronted Mr Terrace, who admitted the line between teacher and student had been “blurred”.
Another student witnessed kiss
The court was told that on sports day, the alleged victim and a fellow student were working on an assignment in the arts building when she went to get something from the music room.
“He pulled her towards him and kissed her on the lips. She felt shocked and pulled away,” Ms Burrows said.
Ms Burrows said the kiss was witnessed by the other student.
Anthony Allen, for Mr Terrace, told the court his client admitted the messages he sent to the student were “inappropriate” but denied they were criminal.
“Some of the communications may be inappropriate, but they fall short of what the law requires to make them criminal,” he said.