Appeal challenges ruling on Sydney teacher's abuse of male students

A challenge is underway in the Supreme Court after a judge ruled a former Sydney teacher sexually abused male students in the 1970s, but could not have foreseen the harm she caused because "things were different nearly 50 years ago."

Helga Lam, now in her early 70s, was found by a judge in a civil case last year to have engaged in repeated sexual conduct with four boys in 1978 and 1979, when they were between 13 and 15 years old and she was 25 at the time.

Ms Lam has always denied the allegations, and has never been convicted, because criminal charges she initially faced were later found not to apply to women in the 1970s.

The men instead sued the State of New South Wales, which agreed to pay them $2.5 million.

The state then sued Ms Lam in an attempt to have her contribute to the sum.

But in his decision in November last year, Justice Ian Harrison found Ms Lam was not financially liable for the conduct because she could not have foreseen the risk of harm to the students, given the societal understanding of child sexual abuse in the late 1970s.

Justice Harrison did find, however, that the school was responsible for, and could have foreseen the harm.

'It exposes children to harm'

David Lloyd SC, representing the state, told the Court of Appeal on Thursday the primary judge erred in his finding that Ms Lam knew having sex with teenage boys was "wrongful", but could not have foreseen the risk of harm.

"This was known to be wrong by everyone in the community," he told the court.

"And the reason they thought it was wrong is because it exposes children to harm."

Mr Lloyd also said Ms Lam would have realised her conduct was harmful based on the responses from the boys, one of whom the judge found was physically shaking after Ms Lam began to touch him indecently.

"The boy on his account at the commencement of the assault is shaking," Mr Lloyd said.

"At least at the point where he's shaking during this assault … there would be the foreseeability of harm, including mental harm."

Mr Lloyd handed up a school-aged photo of the men, who cannot be identified, to the Court of Appeal judges.

"Whilst boys can develop quickly, this is what those boys looked like six to eight months before the abuse," he said.

Ms Lam sat alone in the courtroom and typed on her mobile phone as details of her offending were explained to the court on Thursday.

Her defence to the appeal maintains that she did not and could not have foreseen the relevant harm of her actions in 1978 and 1979.

The matter is set down for a two-day hearing before Justices A Payne, R McHugh and M Ball.