Former teacher in Australia given 18-month community correction order
In Australia, 32-year-old former Irymple Secondary College teacher Harley James Caldwell was given an 18-month community correction order after pleading guilty to one charge of making requests for child sexual abuse material. The decision was made by the County Court in the state of Victoria.
As ABC News Australia reports, Caldwell avoided imprisonment. Judge Michael Patrick Burke said that a custodial sentence would ordinarily have been appropriate, but took into account the early guilty plea and other mitigating circumstances.
Case circumstances
According to the court, in January of last year and this year, Caldwell used the encrypted apps TeleGuard and Telegram to ask two men to send stories about underage boys. In particular, he contacted an unidentified account, RandomDude.
The court heard that the correspondence contained sexual elements, but detailed descriptions of sexual interaction were rare and no images were shared. One of the stories featured characters under the age of 15. Caldwell asked questions about them, and the interlocutor described them as being 14–15 years old.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
He also corresponded with another user named CrazedSpirit on June 14 and 30, 2025. The content of these conversations, apart from one remark cited in court, was not publicly disclosed.
Sentencing conditions
Prosecutor Holly Baxter said that the offence was not among the least serious, particularly because Caldwell approached two different people. Defence lawyer Marco Habib said that two expert reports found no paedophilic attraction in his client. According to the defence, the experts also noted his desire to please interlocutors in encrypted apps.
Caldwell must complete 200 hours of unpaid community work, continue mental health assessment and treatment, and cooperate with corrections services. He currently lives in South Australia, so Victoria's services must attempt to transfer the order to that state for enforcement. If this is not possible, he may be ordered to return to Victoria. The order will take effect on December 10.
