A Perth swimming teacher has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually abusing a teenage girl.
Anthony Craig Dvorak kissed and inappropriately touched the girl, who was aged 14 when the offending began.
He also sent her a series of explicit text messages over a period of more than a year, and requested she send him photographs of herself.
Dvorak winced and visibly shook during a sentencing hearing in the District Court in Perth as some of those text messages were read aloud.
Legacy of abuse for young victim
The court was told the teenage victim now suffered from anxiety and depression, an eating disorder and suicidal thoughts, and had become socially withdrawn.
Judge Kate Glancy said the swimming teacher had abused the girl's trust and his offending would continue to have a significant impact on her life.
"Your conduct was corrupting, abhorrent, illegal and detrimental to her wellbeing," she said.
"You were the teacher of children … you would have known about the vulnerability of children.
"None of your offending is the fault of a 14- or 15-year-old girl who was taken advantage of by a man three times her age."
Notes reveal emotional conflict
The court heard a police search of Dvorak's Beeliar home had uncovered a series of handwritten notes about his relationship with the teenager, one of which read:
"I love you, I hate you, I can't live without you … If you had kept your mouth shut none of this would have happened."
Defence lawyer Ashley Wilson said his client's offences had occurred during an acute phase of depression.
But he said Dvorak knew what he had done was wrong and had shown remorse for his actions.
Mr Wilson said since charges were laid, Dvorak had suffered an emotional breakdown, lost his swim school business and had his house repossessed.
"He's known throughout the swimming school community," Mr Wilson said.
"He and his family will suffer the consequences of that for a long time."
Dvorak will have to serve half of his two-year sentence before becoming eligible for parole.
