24-year-old Monica Elizabeth Young, a former high school teacher, pleaded guilty to sexual assault with a 14-year-old student yesterday in an Australian court. The abuses occurred three times, between the months of June and July 2020.
The victim and another teenager were to pre-register evidence of events between today and tomorrow before a five-day trial beginning on September 21. However, Monica’s defense attorney Margaret Qinen first indicated that she would confess to her crimes.
In all, there are 12 charges, all of which were denied by the defendant on 8 February according to local website News.com.au. However, Monica stepped back and pleaded guilty to three sexual abuse offenses before the Downing Center District Court.
According to the British website Daily Mail, the accused responded by sending a series of explicit messages to the victim via Snapchat. In addition, he was seen driving a student in a park in western Sydney by security cameras, and then sexually assaulted him in the car.
Monica will remain on bail and undergo psychiatric evaluation before being sentenced in June. The maximum sentence in Australia for sexual exploitation of children under 16 is 12 years.
Currently, the former teacher still lives with her family, but is required to report daily to the police. She has a curfew from 8 am to 8 am and can only leave the house with her parents or grandmother.
