Experience: I helped jail the teacher who groomed me

The Guardian · Guardian staff reporter · 2026-11-06 05:00 UTC

At 15, having the cool 31-year-old PE teacher single me out felt thrilling. It took years to see his praise for what it really was

I was 15 when Paul joined my high school in Queensland, Australia, as a PE teacher. He was fun and handsome, and seemed much younger than his 31 years. I was obsessed with dance, and when Paul complimented me on my gymnastics, I was thrilled the “cool” teacher had noticed me.

He’d always stop for a chat. I was the only child of a single mum and though she was there for me, I didn’t confide in her. But he was easy to talk to and I quickly developed a crush.

“You’ve got a muscly bum,” he remarked one day. “I can see it through your shorts.”

Read the full story at The Guardian · All coverage of this story