A TEACHING assistant repeatedly raped a teenage boy in a "grubby sex pod" at the back of a classroom, a court has heard.

Nicole Evelyn Woods, 55, had been mixing booze with amphetamines when she abused a 15-year-old student at a school in Melbourne, Australia after sending the teen nude photos of herself.

Mum Woods initially denied committing the sick offences up until the victim – now 19- was due to give evidence against her.

She appeared earlier today in the County Court of Victoria via video link and pleaded guilty to two charges of sexual penetration of a child under 16.

Woods had joined the school as a teacher's aide in 2016 to help visually impaired students, but later began an illicit relationship with the teen.

While working at the school canteen, she would buy food for the boy and paid for his mobile phone to be repaired.

Chilling Facebook messages seen by authorities show Woods asking the boy to "come play" with her in the "pod" at the back of the classroom.

The court heard this was the first of multiple sexual assaults committed against the boy over a five-month period in 2016.

'BROKEN'

Woods had previously fled from the police when they found naked pictures of her on the boy's Facebook account, setting off a nationwide man hunt.

She was found in December 2019, and has been behind bars in Victoria's infamous Dame Phyliss Frost Centre since December 13 last year.

In a statement, Woods confessed to sexually abusing the boy and said she regretted her actions – despite previously telling a psychiatrist she believed they were justified as the teen had consented.

She said: "It was a snap of the brain. It was just so wrong. I knew it was wrong. I always wanted someone to love me."

But a powerful victim impact statement heard by the court described the boy being left "broken" after the abuse.

It read: "Dark days, anger pain, can’t sleep properly, sleep with knife, cutting myself.

"I’m not innocent anymore."

Woods was also faced by the boy's mum in court, who said there was "no joy, no laughter" in the family's life anymore.

The mum added: "I've locked things in a section of my head because if I think about them I fear it will tip me over the edge."

County court judge George Georgiou said that Woods "hasn't accepted responsibility for her offending" despite acknowledging her wrongdoing.

Woods appeared via video link, as many areas in the state of Victoria are currently on lockdown following a worrying spike in coronavirus cases.

She will be sentenced at a later date.

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