A PREGNANT teacher accused having sex with a 15-year-old pupil after grooming him has been granted bail.
Karly Rae, aged 36, was taken into custody in October at her residence in New South Wales, Australia under suspicion of engaging in sexual activity with a student from the school where she teaches.
Rae is a special needs teacher – but the schoolboy is not believed to have special needs.
There is also no suggestion that the student is the father of her unborn child.
Rae is alleged to have had sex with the pupil on October 4 last year, shortly before her arrest, according to court docs seen by The Daily Telegraph.
Rae has pleaded not guilty to all charges against her – which also include possession of child abuse material and grooming a child for sex.
At a bail hearing held at the NSW Supreme Court on Friday, it was revealed that Rae had initially been released on bail but was later detained for allegedly making contact with the student.
According to court reports, on January 14, she reportedly contacted the student five times within a span of two hours in an attempt to coerce him into providing false information, violating an existing domestic violence restraining order.
Instead of agreeing, the teen told his mother what had happened and went to the police.
Rae was then arrested and has been locked up for the past four months.
However, the judge granted Rae bail on Friday under strict conditions, after hearing about her “high risk” pregnancy.
Justice Dhanji said: “The applicant is 23 weeks pregnant, due to give birth in September.”
The expecting mother reportedly sobbed silently on the video link at the mention of her pregnancy.
The judge noted her pregnancy was high risk owing to her gestational diabetes and history of miscarriages.
But he also ruled that, due to the nature of the allegations against Rae, her child will be unable to stay with her in custody.
Rae was slapped with at least 14 bail condition – including home detention, a ban on social media use, and a requirement to report to Toronto Police Station three times a week.
The judge also said Rae is “no longer able to work as a teacher” and its “highly improbable” she will make attempts to have sex with a child.
Earlier in the week, Rae pleaded not guilty to five charges via video link at Newcastle Magistrates Court.
These included aggravated sexual intercourse with a child aged between 14 and 16, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity and possession of child abuse material.
Additional charges include acting to pervert the course of justice and breaching the violence order after allegedly contacting the student in January.
Rae’s case will go to trial in the District Court and will be arraigned in July.
