The allegations of historical sex abuse against an ex-teacher were dropped since the relevant statutes from the 1970s did not include female abuse of boys.
Helga Lam, a former educator at a boys’ school in Sydney, was accused with 15 charges of indecent assault against four schoolboys for alleged crimes that occurred in 1978.
However, on Monday, the top criminal appeal court in NSW dismissed the charges when three judges decided to overturn the indictment.
Justice Anthony Meagher stated in his lead judgement that the result was based only on the legal theory that “conduct committed by a female upon a male” was not covered by the legislation that was in effect at the time, which was repealed and replaced in 1984.
According to him, the applicable law was “directed to the crime of sodomy upon a male and other male homosexual conduct”.
“The only sexual conduct capable of constituting an assault upon a male which of its nature alone was necessarily regarded as ‘indecent’ at the time … was male homosexual conduct,” Meagher stated.
Penile-vaginal sex with the complainants, masturbating them, performing fellatio on them, and encouraging them to have sex acts performed on her were among the allegations made against Lam.
According to Meagher, one of the four complainants stated that “he was scared and upset when the applicant performed sexual acts upon him.” The other three complainants were eager participants.
The students were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of the alleged offence.
The NSW District Court is scheduled to hear Lam’s case again in the middle of March.
