Former Canberra student teacher Petra Shasha was found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy she met during a 2020 school placement. The ACT Supreme Court sentenced her in 2025 to a community-based order and fine, citing her failure to verify the boy’s age despite his deception. The case highlights the dangers of digital grooming & blurred teacher-student boundaries in Australia’s education system.
First Meeting at St Edmund’s College (2020)
In late 2020, 24-year-old student teacher Petra Shasha began a short placement at St Edmund’s College in Canberra. During that time, she met a 15-year-old Year 9 boy who was never one of her students but often lingered near her classroom with friends. According to trial testimony, the teenager and his friends sought her attention during lunch breaks, trying to “flirt” with her.
Justice John Burns later remarked:
“I am satisfied it was him who sought you out… There is no evidence you encouraged that behaviour at the time.”
Shasha left St Edmund’s after her practicum & took work at nearby Canberra Girls Grammar School. She told the court that more than 20 students from St Edmund’s sent her social-media friend requests afterwards — she ignored them all except one.
A Chance Meeting & Renewed Contact (Early 2021)
In February 2021, the pair unexpectedly ran into each other at a sporting event. Soon after, the boy contacted her on Instagram, claiming he was 16 and needed help with a Year 10 assignment. She believed him — or at least said she did — and began replying.
Their chats became frequent. Shasha started giving him lifts in her car, sending him money, designer clothes, alcohol and vapes, and sharing sexualised images and videos. One photograph, later shown to jurors, depicted Shasha in a department-store change room wearing only a G-string.
The boy told police that he “used to go to her classroom to say hello” & would “pretty much flirt with her”. He admitted to friends that he lied about his age and even bragged falsely that he had sex with the teacher to impress peers & make his girlfriend jealous.
Police Investigation & Initial Charges (2021 – Feb 2022)
In December 2021, ACT Policing received a complaint about an inappropriate relationship between a female student teacher & a boy. Detectives from the Sexual Assault and Child Abuse Team executed a raid at Shasha’s Gowrie home on 20 February 2022, seizing her electronic devices & arresting her.
She was 26 years old. Two initial charges were laid:
- Using a carriage service to transmit indecent material to a person under 16.
- Committing an act of indecency on a 15-year-old.
Prosecutor Sam Bargwanna told the court that further charges were likely.
Bail & Strict Conditions (Feb 2022)
After one night in custody, Magistrate Beth Campbell granted Shasha bail on strict terms. She was forbidden to:
- Contact the boy or five other named individuals, directly or indirectly.
- Approach within 100 metres of St Edmund’s College, Canberra Girls Grammar School, or St Clare’s College.
- Retrieve belongings from Canberra Girls Grammar only under police escort.
Bargwanna warned that Shasha had already contacted the boy before court, prompting Campbell’s sharp caution:
“You can’t send messages, can’t contact through someone else, can’t write, can’t approach.
If you see him in a shopping centre and he approaches you, you get away — because a court order trumps everything.”
Additional Grooming Charge & Not-Guilty Pleas (Mar 2022)
A month later, on 21 March 2022, police filed a new charge of grooming a young person, alleging Shasha “encouraged a boy to commit an act of a sexual nature between 2020 & 2021”.
Represented by Rachel Fisher of Kamy Saeedi Law, she entered not-guilty pleas to all three charges before Magistrate Robert Cook. The matter was listed for a June 2022 pre-hearing mention.
Pre-Trial Developments (2022 – 2023)
Between 2022 & 2023, the case advanced to the ACT Supreme Court. Nearly 20 witnesses — including police officers, school staff, parents & a forensic psychiatrist — were scheduled to testify.
A minor cannabis-supply charge was dropped after a directed acquittal. Suppression orders protected Shasha’s identity & that of St Edmund’s until the verdict.
Trial Before the ACT Supreme Court (Sep – Oct 2024)
In September 2024, now 28, Petra Shasha faced six charges:
- Persistent sexual abuse of a child
- Two counts of grooming
- Two counts of committing an act of indecency
- Supplying pornographic material to a young person
Prosecution Arguments
Crown Prosecutor Emilija Beljic described Shasha’s conduct as a “serious offence occurring with some frequency over a long period.” She said the teacher manipulated the boy through gifts, money & intimacy, adding:
“There were many indications he was younger — his school year, his appearance, his conduct — yet she chose to ignore them.”
Defence Arguments
Defence Barrister Sam Pararajasingham countered that the boy was “assertive & persistent,” saying:
“This was a victim who behaved in a manner beyond his years. He repeatedly told her he was sixteen, sought out contact & demanded sexual photographs.”
He urged the court to consider the teenager’s agency and deceit in telling Shasha his false age.
Expert Testimony
Forensic psychiatrist Dr Richard Furst told the court that Shasha’s actions were not motivated by sexual gratification:
“She did what she did to make him happy. I don’t think she was getting off on it.”
He found her risk of re-offending to be low, though it could rise if she were again around teenage boys — a scenario the judge called “realistically unlikely”.
The Boy’s Account
In police interviews played to jurors, the boy admitted asking for explicit photos and bragging about them to friends. He said Shasha told him, “Don’t show anyone.”
He confessed that lying about his age was meant to “sound cool” & make his girlfriend jealous.
Jury Verdict & Court Reaction (Oct 2024)
After a one-day deliberation, the jury found Petra Shasha guilty on four counts:
- Persistent sexual abuse of a child
- Grooming
- Committing an act of indecency
- Supplying pornographic material to a young person
She was acquitted of two other charges.
Justice Burns stated that her belief the boy was 16 was “honest but inadequate.” The verdict, he said, aligned with her believing the boy’s lie but failing to take reasonable steps to confirm it.
Immediately after conviction, she was freed on bail pending sentencing.
Suppression Orders Lifted (1 October 2024)
On 1 October 2024, the court lifted name and school suppressions, publicly identifying her as Petra Shasha, former student-teacher at St Edmund’s College.
Justice Burns ruled:
“Only people already aware of the matter will be able to identify the victim.”
Media across Australia reported her identity, reigniting debate about teacher-student boundaries and trainee supervision.
Sentencing Submissions (Feb – Mar 2025)
At her sentencing hearing in early 2025, prosecutors sought jail, arguing the offences were serious & sustained.
Beljic pressed:
“It was a very serious offence. It happened over a long period of time with some frequency.”
The defence stressed Shasha’s remorse and the boy’s deception. Pararajasingham told the judge the teen “deliberately set out to deceive” and that Shasha had already suffered “extra-curial punishment” through online vilification.
Psychiatric reports confirmed she had lost her teaching accreditation & would never work with children again.
The Sentence-March 2025
On 14 March 2025, Justice John Burns sentenced Petra Shasha to a one-year & eleven-month Intensive Corrections Order, to be served in the community, fined her $1,000, & ordered mandatory counselling.
He said:
“There is little, if any, prospect of re-offending in the future.
This case falls outside the usual sentencing for such offences.”
He noted the boy’s deceit & emotional immaturity, acknowledging the “mutually complex dynamic” but emphasising adult responsibility:
“You did not take reasonable steps to determine his age.”
He described the matter as “not a typical grooming case.”
The court accepted evidence that she had been subjected to extensive online abuse after her name was made public & considered that as mitigation.
Emotional Aftermath
As the sentence was read, Shasha wept and whispered “thank you” to her solicitors Rachel Fisher and Michael Kukulies-Smith. She embraced her former lawyer after leaving court.
The boy, meanwhile, expressed guilt to his parents when police arrested Shasha, telling them:
“I can’t live without her.”
Justice Burns noted, “He blamed himself — though I do not suggest he should.”
Professional & Legal Consequences
Petra Shasha is now permanently barred from child-related employment across Australia. She has lost her teaching registration & university placement eligibility.
The ACT Education Directorate and St Edmund’s College conducted policy reviews following the trial, reinforcing supervision requirements for student teachers & tightening social-media protocols.
Broader Lessons from the Petra Shasha Case
The Petra Shasha case underscores the modern dangers of teacher-student contact via social media. Even without sexual intercourse, digital grooming — through messages, gifts & imagery — meets the legal threshold for child-sexual offences.
It also re-opens questions about “reasonable belief of age.” Shasha’s defence that she thought the boy was 16 was rejected because she failed to confirm it — a reminder that belief must be reasonable, not merely asserted.
Education & justice officials say the case reveals how trust and power imbalance can be exploited digitally. Teachers are urged to avoid all private messaging with students & to maintain strict professional distance even after leaving placements.
The Final Word
From her 2020 classroom placement to her 2025 sentencing, Petra Shasha’s story traces how blurred boundaries can unravel lives.
The ACT Supreme Court’s decision balanced the boy’s manipulation & deceit against her professional duty to protect him.
“He was an immature teenager,” Justice Burns said. “But you were the adult.”
Shasha’s conviction — though resulting in community service rather than prison — remains a landmark reminder that even non-physical grooming is a crime.
Support Services
If this article raises concerns for you or someone you know, please contact:
- 1800 RESPECT: 1800 737 732 (24-hour sexual assault, family & domestic violence line)
- Lifeline: 13 11 14 (24-hour crisis support)
- Kids Helpline: 1800 551 800
- Canberra Rape Crisis Centre: (02) 6247 2525
FOR MORE RELATED ARTICLES VISIT US AT AUSTRALIANMAGAZINE.COM.AU
Leave a Reply