A jury has begun hearing allegations in the retrial of former teacher Vasilious “Bill” Kafataris, 57, who is accused of sexually touching a girl under his care and grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity.
The alleged offending occurred between January and April 2014, after detectives from the state’s child abuse and sex crimes squad began investigating him in April 2021.
Crown prosecutor Georgina Namat told Parramatta District Court on Monday that evidence showed Kafataris had a tendency to act on his sexual interests, including footage of him kissing a 17-year-old in 2021.
The prosecution alleges Kafataris gave the complainant gifts, made explicit comments and phone calls, and had sex with her at 16, describing her as “the perfect woman” and a “goddess.”
Jurors also heard he wrote about “forbidden loins” and gave her a card on her 16th birthday calling her a soulmate.
Kafataris pleaded guilty last year to two counts of sexually touching a person aged 17–18 under his special care and will be sentenced as part of the retrial.
His barrister, Leslie Nicholls, argued the girl was 18 when sexual activity began, denied some allegations including phone interactions, and questioned her credibility.
Source: Daily Telegraph.
