A former boarding school teacher accused of grooming a child on a dating app was not sure he was messaging with a real person, his lawyer says.
William Roberto Gulson taught at Knox Grammar School in Sydney's north before he was charged over his messaging with a 15-year-old girl, posing as a boy, in August 2024.
The 28-year-old faced a contested hearing today after pleading not guilty to procuring a child under 16 for unlawful sexual activity.
The 15-year-old and another teenager were running a fake profile on the LGBTQI dating app Grindr to catch pedophiles, a prosecutor told the Downing Centre Local Court.
Their account was under a pseudonym and was being operated by the girl when Gulson began sending messages.
Though the fake profile presented as a 15-year-old boy in year nine, Gul