A former primary school teacher from Pakenham who pleaded guilty to the sexual assault and grooming of children has avoided jail time and will serve three years on recognizance-release and correction orders.
Nicholas O’Shea, 31, preyed on nine teenage boys, many of whom he’d either met as a teacher or as a player and coach at baseball clubs for a period of 11 years.
O’Shea pleaded guilty to 13 State and Commonwealth charges relating to sexual assault, grooming, and indecent acts in the presence of others.
The charges relate to nine victims, all young men with some under the age of 16 at the time of offending.
On Friday 31 January, Victorian County Court judge Stewart Bayles sentenced O’Shea to 12 months imprisonment but immediately released on a $2000 recognizance release order for three years – similar to a suspended jail term.
This was accompanied by a community corrections order over the same period.
Twelve of the 13 offences occurred between 2012 and 2020 with the last offense in August 2023.
O’Shea befriended his victims on social-media app Snapchat when some of them were as young as 15.
He would send nude photos and request the same from the boys.
He also sent graphic videos of himself, and plied the boys with alcohol, groped, spooned and propositioned them.
A defence submission argued against jail time citing lack of prior convictions, “frank and honest” cooperation with police, O’Shea’s youthfulness during most of the offending, his engagement in treatment and “true remorse” including a “willingness” to apologise to each victim in-person.
A psychological report stated O’Shea was “socially and emotionally immature” with “difficulty accepting” his homosexuality which resulted in “shame and paranoia”.
It found he had “a moderate risk of reoffending” determined by his “empathy for the victims”, “lack of criminality” and sustained commitment to treatment and alcohol abstinence.
Prosecutor Zoran Petric argued for immediate jail time with a non-parole period stating the “significant need” for the “protection of community” and a “just punishment” for his action.
O’Shea’s actions were a “gross breach of trust” marked by a “persistence” in offending, Petric submitted.
His action had a “wide-reaching impact” on the victims and the community as a former “role model” within the groups he participated in.
Judge Bayles said he must balance the need to punish and deter O’Shea as well as promoting his rehabilitation – which in turn would protect the community from further offending.
The victim impact statements showed the impacts of his actions are “far-reaching” on the victims, the parents, and the wider community, he noted.
O’Shea’s three-year community corrections order, including 300 hours of unpaid work, a sexual offenders’ rehab program and treatment for alcohol and mental health issues.
As part of the CCO, O’Shea will be supervised and judicially monitored.
If O’Shea were to reoffend or breach his recognizance or correction orders, he could be brought before the court and charged again for his original offending.
He must report as a registered sex offender for life.
