An Australian high school teacher has pleaded guilty in a New South Wales court to sexually abusing a teenage boy several times near Newcastle, according to reports.
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported that 37-year-old Karly Rae, who became a mother nearly eight weeks ago, pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old boy in October 2024, possessing child abuse material, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and committing an act with the intention of perverting the course of justice.
Rae initially pleaded not guilty to the charges in May but changed her pleas last month.
Her attorney, Mark Ramsland, reportedly urged the courts to give her case priority because she appeared in court with her eight-week-old baby.
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Court documents obtained by the station reportedly show Rae and the 15-year-old communicated on social media and that the crimes she was accused of committing occurred in the suburbs of Bolton Point, Merewether and Belmont.
Police evidence presented in court included messages between Rae and the teenager on platforms such as Snapchat and Instagram.
"Hey, sorry for removing you on Snap," Rae reportedly told the teenager. "I found it too tempting for now."
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A few messages later, the boy asked Rae, "Should we remove each other now?"
"It’s my fault," she responded. "I take full responsibility. Do what you want/need."
In another message reported by the station, Rae suggested to the boy that they meet one more time.
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"Maybe we could have one last rendezvous before school goes back," she reportedly wrote. "I’ll bring my toy."
The teenager’s cousin allegedly saw the messages between the two on Instagram, told his parents and the parents reported the matter to police, the station reported.
When police arrested Rae, court documents alleged that she told law enforcement she was unaware of the teenager’s age.
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"I thought he was of age… and leaving school," she reportedly said.
According to ABC, Rae was granted Supreme Court bail in June after telling the court she was pregnant, though an earlier application had been refused.
She had been scheduled to stand trial in August 2025, but those dates have since been vacated.
Judge Roy Ellis has allocated two and a half hours for a sentencing hearing set for March 25 and ordered that a sentencing assessment report be prepared beforehand.
Ramsland said there would be "a lot of subjective material" included in the submissions.
Police facts cited by ABC noted that a professional learning transcript from the NSW Department of Education "indicated Rae had completed child protection training in February 2024."
She remains on bail while awaiting sentencing.
