A Knox Grammar teacher has been found guilty of procuring a child for sex on gay dating app Grindr by a student who was using the app to ‘catch pedos’.
William Roberto Gulson, 28, who taught English and drama at Knox, was charged in 2024 with procuring or grooming a minor for unlawful sexual activity.
The case went before the Downing Centre Local Court last September, where the former teacher pleaded not guilty to the lone charge during a three-day hearing.
Magistrate Hugh Donnelly found him guilty on Tuesday.
In outlining the prosecution case, Magistrate Hugh Donnelly said the court heard a 16-year-old student created a fake Grindr account purporting to be a 26-year-old man, with the profile image showing only the back of a head.
The teenager later told Gulson he was a 15-year-old Year 9 student ‘looking for older men’.
Gulson said he believed the exchange was a bizarre attempt by a ‘wacko adult’ to pretend they were a child.
‘I believed I was dealing with an adult male that was using the site,’ Gulson told the court.
That was despite Gulson sending messages that said: ‘Do you find it hot that you are as old as some of my students?’ and ‘I feel conflicted’.
The teen sent photos of a 15-year-old boy’s face and Gulson said he could pick the boy out from his house if they snuck out.
The court heard Gulson – who denied a sexual attraction to children – also searched ‘gay child porn’ nine days before his arrest.
When asked whether his internet searches, including ‘young boy raped movie scene’ and ‘movies about priests molesting boys’, indicated a sexual interest in children, Gulson denied it.
‘Look at anyone’s phone,’ he said.
‘I’m sure lots of people type in eyebrow-raising searches.’
Following Gulson’s arrest, Knox headmaster Scott James wrote to parents about the incident.
‘I am writing to inform you that late this afternoon a senior school teacher was charged by police in relation to allegations of online grooming of a minor,’ he wrote.
‘When this was brought to our attention, the teacher concerned was immediately removed from the school and his employment was terminated.’
William Roberto Gulson, who taught English and drama at Knox, was charged in 2024 with procuring or grooming a minor for unlawful sexual activity
