Sydney private school teacher charged with grooming a 14-year-old girl and accessing child abuse material
Consensus Summary
A Sydney private school teacher named Benjamin David Collinge, 29, was arrested and charged with grooming a 14-year-old girl and accessing child abuse material after allegedly posing as a 17-year-old boy online. Collinge, a casual music teacher at Newington College, was arrested at his Beecroft home on March 28, 2024, and police found child abuse material during a search of his devices. Both sources confirm the girlâs parents reported suspicious communications, leading to his arrest, and that no Newington students were involved. Collinge had a valid Working with Children Check and completed mandatory training, though he was immediately sacked by the school. Police allege he pressured the girl for explicit images in exchange for money and are investigating whether other children may have been targeted. Collinge was remanded in custody and refused bail, with his next court appearance scheduled for April 2. Minor discrepancies exist in the timing of events between sources, but the core allegations remain consistent.
â Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Benjamin David Collinge, 29, is a casual music teacher at Newington College in Sydney, allegedly groomed a 14-year-old girl via social media
- Collinge posed as a 17-year-old boy online to contact the girl, who was using an app affected by Australiaâs under-16 social media ban
- Collinge was arrested at his Beecroft home on March 28, 2024, and charged with using a carriage service to groom a minor and access child abuse material
- Police found child abuse material on an electronic device during a search of Collingeâs Beecroft residence
- Collinge was remanded in custody until April 2, 2024, and refused bail at Burwood Local Court
- Newington College terminated Collingeâs employment after his arrest and confirmed no students were involved
- Collinge had a valid Working with Children Check and completed mandatory child protection training
- The girlâs parents alerted police after noticing suspicious communications, leading to Collingeâs arrest
- Collinge was a former Newington College student who graduated in 2014
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Collinge allegedly offered the girl a ânot significantâ amount of money in exchange for sexually explicit material
- Detective Acting Superintendent Karl Leis stated police would investigate further to determine if other children were targeted
- School headmaster Michael Parker mentioned tuition fees for Newington College (kindergarten: $27,819; year 12: $48,141)
- SMH included specific contact details for national sexual assault counselling services (1800 Respect, CASA, Kids Helpline)
- SMH noted Collinge was arrested at 5:45am and mentioned the timing of the schoolâs termination of his employment (Thursday afternoon)
- ABC included a timestamp for the police raid (5:45am) and specified the exact time of Collingeâs arrest
- ABC highlighted that Collinge worked in casual roles at the music department since 2015 at Wyvern House and Lindfield campuses
- ABC emphasized that the girl was ânot known to himâ and that Collingeâs interactions were ânot significantâ in monetary terms
- ABC provided a direct quote from Superintendent Leis: âWe will allege that this particular 29-year-old purported to be a 17-year-old boyâ
- ABC mentioned the schoolâs letter to parents was sent âthis afternoonâ (implying a slightly different timeline than SMHâs âThursday afternoonâ)
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- SMH states Collinge was arrested at an unspecified time on Thursday, while ABC specifies the raid occurred at 5:45am on the same day
- SMH mentions the schoolâs termination of Collingeâs employment occurred on Thursday afternoon, while ABC implies it was later in the day (âthis afternoonâ)
- SMH does not explicitly state Collingeâs former student status at Newington, though ABC confirms he graduated in 2014
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