Sydney private school teacher charged with grooming and child abuse material offenses
Consensus Summary
A Sydney private school teacher named Benjamin David Collinge, 29, was arrested on March 28, 2024, after allegedly grooming a 14-year-old girl by posing as a 17-year-old boy on social media. Police allege Collinge pressured the girl to send sexually explicit images in exchange for money and found child abuse material on his devices during a raid at his Beecroft home. Charged with grooming and accessing child abuse material, Collinge was refused bail and remanded in custody until April. Newington College, where Collinge worked as a casual music teacher since 2015, confirmed his termination and stated no students were involved. Both sources agree on the core allegations and charges, though ABC emphasizes his casual employment status while SMH highlights the girlās vulnerability and includes tuition fee details. Police are investigating whether other victims may have come forward.
ā Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- Benjamin David Collinge, 29, was arrested on March 28, 2024, in Beecroft, NSW, for grooming a 14-year-old girl and accessing child abuse material
- Collinge allegedly posed as a 17-year-old boy to contact the girl on social media, who was not known to him
- The girlās parents reported the incident to NSW Police on Wednesday, March 27, 2024, leading to Collingeās arrest the following morning
- Collinge was charged with using a carriage service to groom someone under 16 and using a carriage service to access child abuse material
- Police found child abuse material on Collingeās electronic devices during a search of his Beecroft home
- Collinge was refused bail at Burwood Local Court and remanded in custody until April 2, 2024, when he will apply for bail
- Newington College terminated Collingeās employment after his arrest and confirmed no Newington students were involved
- Collinge worked as a casual music teacher at Newington College since 2015 and held a valid Working with Children Check
- Superintendent Karl Leis (NSW Police Sex Crimes Squad) stated Collinge allegedly pressured the girl to send sexually explicit images in exchange for money
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- Collinge allegedly offered the girl a ānot significantā amount of money to send explicit images, with police describing it as āpressureā during dialogue
- ABC explicitly states Collinge was a ācasual teacherā at Newington College, not a full-time employee
- ABC includes the exact time of the police raid: 5:45 AM on the morning of the arrest
- ABC notes Collinge was a former Newington student who graduated in 2014 (though this detail is also in SMH)
- SMH emphasizes the girl was described as āvulnerableā in police statements, a phrasing not used in ABC
- SMH provides specific tuition fees for Newington College: $27,819 (kindergarten) to $48,141 (year 12)
- SMH includes a quote from Superintendent Leis about encouraging other potential victims to come forward: āWe will certainly be taking steps to thoroughly investigate the matterā
- SMH mentions the social media app used by the girl was affected by the Commonwealthās under-16 social media ban
- SMH notes Collinge did not apply for bail when his matter was briefly mentioned at court on Thursday (March 28)
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- ABC states Collinge was a ācasual teacherā at Newington College, while SMH does not specify his employment status beyond āteacherā
- SMH includes tuition fee details for Newington College ($27,819ā$48,141), which are not mentioned in ABC
- ABC does not mention the girlās vulnerability as explicitly as SMH does in describing her (SMH: āvulnerable 14-year-old girlā)
Source Articles
Sydney private school teacher charged with grooming 14yo girl
A casual teacher at Newington College has been charged with allegedly encouraging a 14-year-old girl to send sexually explicit images for money....
Private school teacher allegedly āpressuredā vulnerable girl, 14, for abuse material
Police allege the former Newington College secondary teacher posed as a 17-year-old to offer the teenager cash in exchange for sexually explicit material....