After spending almost 15 months behind bars, an ex-teacher who sexually abused a student has a high chance of overturning her conviction because it was based on a law that applied solely to men.
If her bid is successful, the NSW court decision could make grandmother Gaye Grant the second former teacher to have her conviction on historical child sex abuse charges quashed because she is a woman.
The now 77-year-old was sentenced to jail in December 2022 for the two-year long abuse of one of her male students in the 1970s.
The boy first met Grant when he was 10 and confided in her about being bullied.
Starting off with the student sitting on her lap and fondling her, the abuse escalated to kissing and eventually into sexual intercourse.
Grant, who was known as the "cool" teacher at school, had sex with the boy when her husband was not around.
After he tried to distance himself from the teacher in the late 1970s, she wrote to him saying she loved him.
When handing down her sentence, District Court Judge Andrew Haesler said Grant exploited the teacher-student relationship as well as the boy's age and vulnerability.
"She abused her position of authority as a respected school teacher, who had control over the lives of her pupils," he wrote.
Pleading guilty to one count of being an adult maintaining an unlawful sexual relationship with a child, Grant was sentenced to a maximum prison term of six years and nine months, expiring on September 19, 2029.
Her non-parole period was three years and four months, expiring on April 19, 2026.
The 77-year-old has since launched an appeal, saying she was convicted for a charge under which she could "never lawfully be convicted".
This late-stage legal challenge was filed after another teacher, Helga Lam, successfully had her historical sex abuse charges quashed in February.
Ms Lam had been charged with 15 counts of indecent assault on four school boys for offences dating back to 1978.
However, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal found Lam had been convicted based on a law in force at the time which did not apply to "conduct committed by a female upon a male".
That law was repealed and replaced in 1984.
On March 1, Grant was granted bail and given leave to appeal her own conviction because of the Lam judgment.
On Friday, a court decision was published, acknowledging that the ex-teacher had good odds of overturning her conviction.
"In the light of Lam, the applicant’s appeal would be most likely to succeed," wrote justices Kristina Stern, David Davies and Stephen Campbell.
The three judges said Grant should be released on bail, saying there was "no unacceptable risk" to the victim or the community.
Her bail conditions require her to be on good behaviour and to appear before the court whenever required.
A spokesman for the NSW Attorney-General said the Department of Communities could advise victim-survivors seeking justice.
“The Attorney-General has asked the Department of Communities for advice on how to resolve the issues that have arisen in that matter and on avenues available for victim-survivors to seek justice," he said in a statement on Friday.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
