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Tasmanian Ex-Teacher Sentenced to 21 Years for Decades of Sexual Abuse

The judge condemned the prolonged predation as a grave breach of trust, ordering lifetime sex‑offender registration.

Overview

  • Keith Athol Bates-Willie, 71, received a non-parole period of 11 years in the Supreme Court of Tasmania.
  • A jury in August convicted him on 14 charges including rape, aggravated sexual assault, four counts of persistent sexual abuse of a child, and eight counts of indecent assault.
  • The abuse spanned from the late 1970s to the mid-2000s at Rosetta High, Kingston High and Rosny College, as well as at his home, in a vehicle, a spa, darkrooms and on a Bass Strait ferry.
  • Justice Stephen Estcourt said Bates-Willie showed no remorse, noted he called victims “liars” and “copycats,” and placed him on the sex offender register for life.
  • The court rejected defence mitigation, disputing a psychologist’s low-risk assessment and characterizations of lesser seriousness, and cited overwhelming evidence from 16 witnesses.