A former school principal is staring down a prison term after robbing a “vulnerable” teenage girl of her innocence, a Tasmanian court has heard.
Gary Raymond Sykes, 70, fronted the Supreme Court in Launceston for a sentencing hearing after earlier pleading guilty to one count of persistent sexual abuse of a child.
The offending occurred at Flinders Island, 55 kilometres off Tasmania’s north-east coast, between December 2019 and December 2020.
The court heard Sykes, an education veteran of more than 40 years, retired from his role as principal of Flinders Island District High School in 2014 before continuing to work “periodically” as a relief teacher.
He is no longer employed by the Tasmanian Education Department.
Crown prosecutor Emily Judd said Sykes knew the family and “had knowledge and understanding of the vulnerability of the complainant”.
The offending largely occurred in Sykes’s car and at his home.
The Supreme Court in Launceston heard Sykes was remorseful for his actions. (ABC News: Laura Beavis)
‘Ashamed of what he’s done’
Ms Judd submitted a statement on behalf of the victim.
“I was so vulnerable,” the victim wrote.
“He was in a position of power … this did not deter him.”
The victim said Sykes’s offending had continued to impact her mental and physical health.
“I am terrified his actions will further impact my life,” she wrote.
Barrister James Oxley said Sykes was remorseful and accepted he should not have acted on his “feelings” for the victim.
“He accepts what he did was completely wrong,” Mr Oxley said.
“He looks back on his conduct and is ashamed of what he’s done.“
Mr Oxley said Sykes’s offending had a “profound impact” on his family.
He submitted that Sykes, who moved to Launceston from Flinders Island in 2023, had no criminal history and had pleaded guilty at his first Magistrates Court appearance.
Mr Oxley said Sykes’s age and lack of prior experience with the justice system would make a prison term “very difficult for him”.
However, Justice Robert Pearce told Sykes a prison term was “inevitable”.
He was remanded in custody and will be sentenced in July.
