A FORMER South East music teacher has been jailed for 10 years after being found guilty at trial for several sexual offences committed against young students in the 1990s.
Trenton John Wickers, 49, appeared in the Adelaide District Court yesterday afternoon to be sentenced for four counts of indecent assault and one count of unlawful sexual intercourse.
Judge Simon Stretton handed down a significant penalty of 10 years imprisonment with an eight year non-parole period backdated to October 19.
The sentence related to offences committed against four different female students between 1992 and 1997 at various schools in South Australia.
The first offence occurred in the early ’90s when Wickers befriended a 13-year-old girl who had a role in a play at a regional school.
Wickers offered the girl private lessons, which he used to talk about increasingly personal topics.
After building the girl’s trust, Wickers became more personal and began massaging and kissing the girl’s neck.
“At the time she believed that you were genuinely interested in her life and you made her feel special,” Judge Stretton said.
As the production approached, Wickers drove the girl to an interview to promote the production.
He parked the car in a secluded spot and “forcibly kissed her on the lips”, which constituted the first count of indecent assault.
A few days later, during a private lesson, he took the same girl into a small practice room at the end of the music room.
Wickers then laid on top of the girl and asked her for consent, before engaging in sexual intercourse.
The victim described feeling terrified that other classmates or teachers might realise what happened.
“She said she felt used, dirty and like something was wrong with her,” Judge Stretton said.
The next charge occurred against another victim in the early ’90s when Wickers asked her to stay behind after class.
After talking to the girl, he slid his hand underneath her clothing and touched her breast, which constituted another charge of indecent assault.
Two more charges of indecent assault occurred at two other South Australian schools in the mid to late ’90s.
Both charges involved the kissing of young students.
Judge Stretton said the offending had a serious impact on the victims.
“At a very formative and vulnerable stage of their young lives, you took advantage of each of them for your selfish prurient purposes,” Judge Stretton said.
Judge Stretton said the offending was an appalling breach of the trust by a school teacher.
“You used your position as the new, young, hip music teacher in a series of schools to get close to the four young female students in question and sexually offend against them,” Judge Stretton said.
“In these circumstances, both personal and general deterrence must play a significant part of any sentence.”
Wickers will be eligible for release on parole in October 2026.
