A former teacher, Gaye Grant, who pleaded guilty to maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child, is now seeking to have her conviction overturned on the grounds that she cannot be held legally responsible due to her gender.
Grant is appealing in the Court of Criminal Appeal to have her conviction quashed rather than face a retrial, arguing that as a woman, she could not be legally responsible for the crime under laws at the time.
She arrived at court in Sydney wearing a black hat, sunglasses, black veil, and face mask.
Grant’s lawyer, Stephen Boland, argued that there was legal precedent for entertaining a conviction appeal despite a guilty plea if the appellant could not be legally convicted of the offence.
Boland stated that while it was possible for the court to send Grant’s case back to the District Court for a new trial, the preferred course of action was to simply dismiss the conviction.
Grant, who is now in her late 70s, was sentenced to jail in December 2022 for the two-year long abuse of one of her male students in the 1970s.
The abuse allegedly began when the student was 10 years old and confided in Grant about being bullied.
It escalated from sitting on Grant’s lap and fondling to kissing and eventually sexual intercourse.
After the student tried to distance himself from Grant, she wrote to him professing her love.
Grant was released on bail after almost 15 months behind bars and given leave to appeal her conviction following the successful appeal of another teacher, Helga Lam, who had historical sex abuse charges quashed in February.
The NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found that Lam had been convicted based on a law that did not apply to “conduct committed by a female upon a male” at the time of the offences in 1978.
A decision on Grant’s appeal has been reserved for a later date.
If you or someone you know has experienced sexual abuse, you can contact 1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service at 1800 211 028.
