An Albion Park Rail dance teacher accused of sending explicit Snapchat messages to a 14-year-old female pupil has broken down in tears describing how he turned to the social media app in a bid to ease his loneliness.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Jay Patterson, 25, is facing trial in Wollongong District Court this week, after pleading not guilty to a charge of using a carriage service to transmit indecent communication to a person under 16 years.
The Crown alleges Patterson sent pictures of his exposed penis to the teen and videos of himself masturbating in late night conversations between the pair.
Taking the stand on Thursday in his own defence case, Patterson said the only images he sent the teen were pictures of his naked abdomen and chest – not his penis.
He told the court he had about 15 to 20 contacts on Snapchat, some of whom were strangers, and had he sent the torso pictures as a group message to several people at one time.
He claimed a mutual friend had added the girl to his list of contacts, and that he didn’t know who she was or that she was underage, despite the fact he had taught her for an entire term.
When asked why he’d sent the images, Patterson told the court he was seeking attention.
“I was so lonely at the time; I had no friends so I was sending Snapchats to people daily just to communicate, to speak to people,” he said.
“Was it your habit to send torso images to people you didn’t know?” Crown prosecutor Michelle England asked Patterson.
“Yes at the time because I had no friends,” he responded.
Meantime, Patterson denied suggestions a series of text messages exchanged with his girlfriend after she had found out about his Snapchat conversations pointed to a guilty conscience.
In the text messages, Patterson repeatedly said he’d “f—ked up”, at one stage saying “it wasn’t worth it”.
However, when asked what he’d meant by “it”, Patterson said he’d been referring to his six-year relationship with the woman.
Defence lawyer Scott Schaudin captialised on Patterson’s self-deprecating comments during his closing submissions to the jury, but reminded jurors they had to determine the case based on the evidence alone.
“You don’t have to like the accused to find him not guilty,” Mr Schaudin said.
“Being, to use the accused’s own words, ‘a f—kwit’, doesn’t make you a criminal”.
The jury will convene on Friday morning to consider its verdict.
Being, to use the accused’s own words, ‘a f—kwit’, doesn’t make you a criminal
- Defence barrister Scott Schaudin
