A former deputy director was given a nearly one-year prison sentence after he was caught by undercover officers trying to have sex with an alleged underage girl.
Damian Wanstall was sentenced in July 2023 to three years and seven months in prison, with two years to be served without parole.
The now 50-year-old, then deputy principal of north-west Sydney’s Kellyville High School, was arrested by police after posting an online advertisement with the headline: “All legal Indian or Filo teens want fun.”
The ad read: ’40 year old Australian dad looking for sexy play this weekend. Will reward. Can discreetly host Rouse Hill.’
He was approached by an undercover officer posing as a 14-year-old girl, seeking to arrange a date for sex in Sydney’s western suburb of Westmead.
Instead, he was arrested by police with $200 in his pocket and pleaded guilty to using a courier service to distribute child pornography.
On Monday, a three-judge panel in the New South Wales Court of Criminal Appeal quashed his original sentence and unanimously imposed a shorter sentence of two years and eight months.
His period without the possibility of parole was also shortened to 18 months and will expire on November 16.
Damian Wanstall, a former high school deputy headteacher, was caught by undercover officers trying to have sex with an alleged underage girl.
The Court of Appeal ruled that Judge Andrew Colefax was wrong to assume that Wanstall had given incorrect instructions to his lawyer at an earlier court hearing.
In resentencing the former deputy director, the court acknowledged that the 50-year-old had been drinking heavily and was under the influence when he had sex with teenagers.
Psychiatrist Dr Andrew Ellis told the court that alcohol was an explanation for the unusual behaviour, but he did not excuse Wanstall for what he ultimately did.
The court rejected the former deputy headmaster’s claims that the publicity surrounding his case amounted to extracurricular punishment, with Judge Deborah Sweeney noting that the media reports were “neither false nor sensational”.
Wanstall was deputy principal of north-west Sydney’s Kellyville High School at the time of his offence.
However, the loss of his career as a result of the offence was taken into account as an additional punishment when the sentence was reviewed.
In a letter to the court, Wanstall expressed genuine remorse for his behaviour, saying he was ashamed, disgusted and shocked by what he had done, Judge Sweeney wrote.
Still, he partially blamed the undercover agent and expressed regret for the negative impact the crime had had on his life.
The judge noted that he had positive prospects for rehabilitation because he tutored prisoners at Kirkconnell Prison near Bathurst and performed administrative duties for the educational institutions there.
The charge Wanstall admitted to carries a maximum sentence of 15 years.
The New South Wales Department of Education previously said Wanstall was immediately fired after being convicted.