An Albion Park Rail dance teacher accused of sending explicit pictures and videos of himself to an underage student on social media asked the teenage girl what he had to do to “get [her] clothes off”, a court has heard.
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Jay Patterson, 25, fronted Wollongong District Court on Tuesday on for the first day of his week-long trial on a single charge of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16 years.
In opening the Crown case, prosecutor Michelle England played the jury an August 2016 video of police interviewing the alleged victim, a 14-year-old student at the Sydney dance school where Patterson taught.
The girl told officers Patterson was initially “flirty” with her after they became friends on Snapchat however he soon escalated to making intimate remarks about her body before sending her a shirtless photo of himself.
She responded by sending him a picture of her in pyjama bottoms and a bra, saying she didn’t want him to think she was immature.
She said during another Snapchat session a week later, Patterson asked her “what do I have to do to get those clothes off?”
“I said ‘nothing, because they’re not coming off’,” the girl told police.
“He sent another photo of himself, he didn’t have any pants on...it was of his privates...you could see half his stomach.”
When asked what she meant by “privates”, the girl responded “his dick”.
“Is there anything you can tell me about his dick?” police asked her.
“Not really,” she responded, before saying it appeared Patterson was lying down when the picture was taken.
She said she sent Patterson another bra picture that evening before going to bed. She told police she saved the pictures Patterson had sent her but deleted them at his request about a week later.
The girl reported the matter to police in August 2016 and Patterson was arrested in October.
The court heard Patterson’s girlfriend found out about his interaction with the teen in late July. He repeatedly admitted he’d “f—ked up” in a series of text messages sent between them and read out in court on Tuesday.
“I’ve lost you because of a stupid thing I did,” he wrote.
“I know I’m a f—king idiot, I ruined everything. I was playing with fire and I got burned.”
Jurors were also played the girl’s second interview with police, conducted earlier this month, in which she alleged Patterson had also sent her videos of himself masturbating at the time.
The trial continues.
He sent another photo of himself, he didn’t have any pants on...it was of his privates...you could see half his stomach
- Alleged victim
