The victim of a Melbourne Catholic school music teacher says she was held prisoner by her poor mental health following almost two years of being groomed and assaulted.
Brian Kenneth William Wallwork, 48, pleaded guilty in the County Court on Friday to two counts of committing an indecent act with a child, one count of sexual penetration of a child under 16, and one count of sexual penetration of a child aged 16.
In a victim impact statement read to the court, the woman said that Wallwork made her feel special, but in reality, she had been targeted by a paedophile.
“Brian’s actions have impacted me for more than half my life. My teen years, which should have been the happiest of my life, were stolen by a child sex offender and I can never get them back,” she said.
“I was in denial that crimes had even happened to me. This toxic pattern of thinking had a significant impact on my mental health … I was held prisoner by my own mind.”
She said she turned to self-harm and destructive behaviours after the offending, with Wallwork’s choices tainting her love of the violin.
During the period of offending between 2006 and late 2007, Wallwork was the head of strings at Eltham College. At the time he was charged in 2020, Wallwork was head of performing arts at St Peter’s College in Cranbourne.
The court heard that Wallwork first assaulted the teen at his parent’s home in eastern Victoria, after the girl performed in a musical ensemble he led.
After a July 2006 rehearsal at a house in Croydon South, Wallwork assaulted the teenager in a shower.
He bought the teen a mobile phone, which she concealed from her parents.
After the victim turned 16, Wallwork and the teen engaged in penetrative sex at his Ringwood rental in 2007.
On another occasion that year, Wallwork took her to the Burnt Bridge Tennis Club in Ringwood and engaged in unprotected sex. She was later diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease.
A second victim who attended a performance at Eltham College in mid-2006 found herself in a percussion storage room with Wallwork, who kissed and touched her breasts.
Prosecution barrister Andrew Grant said the man stopped the offending and told the girl, “I’m at work, I can’t do this here”.
Defence barrister Tim Marsh argued for his client’s sentence to be partially suspended, noting Wallwork’s guilty plea was a sign of remorse and that he had not offended since.
Marsh said his client was coming to terms with the breakdown of a six-year relationship when he offended, but Judge Martin Marich said the simpler explanation was that Wallwork found the teen “young and appealing, which is worrying”.
The defence lawyer conceded the more than 15-year age gap between Wallwork and his victims signalled a “staggering difference in life experience and emotional capacity”.
“He is horrified by the extent of the harm his actions had,” Marsh said.
Wallwork will be placed on the Sex Offender Register for life as a result of the guilty plea. He will be sentenced in the County Court on November 24.
If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), Lifeline 131 114, or Beyond Blue 1300 224 636.
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