By Jessica McSweeney and Clare Sibthorpe
A young female PE teacher was arrested at a south-west Sydney high school on Tuesday, accused of sexually abusing one of her male students.
Here’s everything we know about the teacher known to her students as Miss Brailey.
Tayla Brailey appeared in several posts on her mother’s social media accounts.Credit: Facebook
What is she accused of?
Tayla Brailey faces three separate charges relating to a 17-year-old school student. They are aggravated sexual assault of a victim who is under the offender’s authority, sexually touching a person aged between 17 and 18 while under her care, and sexual intercourse with the same person under her care.
According to court documents, the first two crimes were allegedly committed between midnight on July 1 and mid-afternoon on July 26 in West Wollongong, which is the same area as her residential address listed on the court papers.
The third alleged incident took place between 9am and 3pm on July 26 in the suburb of the school where Brailey teaches and her alleged victim attends.
Teacher Tayla Brailey leaves Amber Laurel Correctional Facility in Sydney’s west on Wednesday.Credit: Nikki Short
Brailey will inevitably be sentenced to prison if convicted, the court heard on Wednesday, and will potentially serve several years due to the seriousness of the charges.
What have the police said?
Police say Brailey has “made admissions” and “an acknowledgement of her wrongdoing” in statements to them after they dramatically arrested her at the school on Tuesday in response to reports that a female teacher had sexually touched a 17-year-old boy.
They allege Brailey has also admitted to speaking with two other students on social media, in addition to her alleged victim.
She has not been charged over that communication, but police are investigating “the type of contact that was made”, Liverpool Local Court heard on Wednesday.
Brailey tried to cover her face when leaving the correctional facility.Credit: Louise Kennerley
Police are reviewing CCTV linked to the alleged sexual touching incident in West Wollongong, as well as videos found on the student’s phone. They’re also forensically examining his car. Brailey willingly handed over her phone and passcode to the police.
The police prosecutor told the court on Wednesday that the case is of significant concern due to Brailey’s position of authority and that she “even informed the complainant not to speak about what had occurred”.
What has her defence team said?
Brailey’s solicitor, Patrick Schmidt, told the court he did not shy away from the seriousness of the allegations. While it’s currently “just an allegation”, he acknowledged the prosecution case seemed strong.
He argued successfully for Brailey to be released from custody on Wednesday to live with her parents in Wollongong while she awaits further court proceedings, saying decisions on bail were not about early punishment but risks to the community.
Schmidt noted Brailey had no prior criminal record and strong community ties, with her parents and husband supporting her in court. Her family was extremely emotional throughout the hearing. He said it was clear police did not yet “have all their ducks in a row”, and it was not clear how long their investigation would take.
It could be 18 months to two years before a trial takes place, if Brailey were to fight any of the charges, and he argued it would be onerous to keep her in prison until then. Schmidt told the court that “while age is an issue”, the acts were “often referred to as non-oppositional” in the police fact sheet.
Legally, a student cannot consent to sex with their teacher.
Who is Tayla Brailey?
Just 11 months ago, Tayla Brailey was celebrating her wedding.
Brailey appeared on the 1% Club Australia.
The teacher got engaged in December 2021, and her mother posted a glowing social media update showing off her daughter’s impressive engagement ring.
Other social media posts showed her celebrating her hen party in Bali and posing outside the popular Finns Beach Club at Canggu.
The 30-year-old graduated from the University of Wollongong in 2017 with a degree in physical and health education before becoming a teacher.
Recently, she co-ordinated her school’s athletics carnival.
She lives in a western Wollongong suburb with her real estate agent mother, where she must stay at all times unless supervised by her parents as part of her bail conditions.
Outside the classroom, Brailey appeared as a contestant on the Channel Seven quiz show the 1% Club Australia earlier this year.
Why was she released on bail?
Magistrate Imad Abdul-Karim said the serious allegations involved an abuse of position and trust, and the prosecution’s case appeared strong. Ultimately, however, he was confident the strict bail conditions proposed by Schmidt would mitigate any risks raised by the prosecution, which included failing to appear at court, endangering the safety of victims and the community and interfering with witnesses or evidence.
He was also convinced she would abide by the conditions that were comparable to house arrest. She must live with her parents in Wollongong and not leave home without them, abide by a 9pm–7am curfew, stay off social media, not contact any prosecution witnesses, not go near children unless with her parents, enter no educational facilities, stay away from the school’s suburb, report to police three times a week, surrender her passport and not go near international departure points.
Brailey tied the knot in September 2023. Credit: Facebook
What happens next?
The Herald can report this case thanks to a win by this masthead and another media outlet in court against the prosecution, which fought to ban the publication of Brailey’s name and other identifying details.
On Wednesday, the prosecution argued for an eight-week interim non-publication order due to ongoing police investigations into the matter. But Abdul-Karim noted that media coverage of arrests and court proceedings are regularly publicised while investigations are ongoing, and no specific risks to anyone’s safety were raised.
He said he was not satisfied that it was in the public interest to suppress the information.
Throughout the court proceedings, Brailey intermittently put her head in her hands, cried and rocked back and forth. She gasped with relief when she was granted bail.
On Wednesday afternoon, she was released from Amber Laurel Correctional Centre in western Sydney, wearing a dark grey hoodie and attempting to cover her face with her arm.
She will live with her parents under strict bail conditions until the case is next heard at Campbelltown Local Court on October 2.
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