Private school teacher allegedly pressured ‘vulnerable’ girl, 14, for abuse material

A Sydney teacher who worked at prestigious private school Newington College allegedly posed as a 17-year-old boy online to pressure a “vulnerable” 14-year-old girl into sending sexually explicit material.

Benjamin David Collinge, 29, faced Burwood Local Court on Thursday charged with using a carriage service to groom a minor and using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Detective Acting Superintendent Karl Leis said Collinge allegedly first made contact with the child, whom he did not know, via a social media app on Wednesday last week.

“We will allege that the 29-year-old actively took steps online to reach out to this vulnerable 14-year-old girl,” the acting commander of the sex crimes squad said.

Police will allege Collinge then offered the child a “not significant” amount of money to send him sexually explicit material in exchange.

“He did take steps to pressure the child during that dialogue … There were multiple messages sent and received between the parties,” Leis alleged.

The girl, who was using an app affected by the Commonwealth’s under-16 social media ban, alerted her parents, who contacted the police.

At about 5.45am on Thursday, Collinge was arrested at an address in Beecroft, in Sydney’s north.

During a search of the home, police allegedly found child abuse material on an electronic device.

He was taken to Gladesville Police Station and charged with using a carriage service to groom a minor and using a carriage service to access child abuse material.

Leis said police weren’t aware of any other children allegedly targeted by Collinge online. He was not known to police and had a Working with Children Check.

“We will certainly be taking steps to thoroughly investigate the matter, to ascertain if there are any other children who have been victims of this particular [alleged] predator, to come forward, speak to their parents and encourage them to report these matters to police,” Leis said.

He said it was a timely reminder for parents to be aware of their children’s online activity.

“These offences are committed in the privacy of someone’s own home,” he said.

Collinge – who is also a former student at Newington and graduated in 2014 – did not apply for bail when his matter was briefly mentioned at Burwood Local Court on Thursday.

He was remanded in custody until April 2, when he is expected to apply for bail. His lawyer, Bryan Wrench, did not answer questions about the charges against Collinge outside court.

In a message to the Newington school community, headmaster Michael Parker said the college had sacked the casual music teacher after his arrest.

“Police have informed us that no Newington students, or students at schools we have recently been associated with, have been identified as having been involved,” he wrote.

“We are deeply upset by these allegations, and we will work closely with police on the protection of children.”

Newington is one of Sydney’s most expensive private boys’ schools, but is transitioning to become fully co-ed by 2033.

The annual tuition at Newington ranges from $27,819 for kindergarten students to $48,141 for year 12 students.

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