Arabic version: أمر إصلاح مجتمعي لمعلم سابق من إيريمبل

According to ABC News, former Irymple Secondary College teacher Harley James Caldwell, 32, has avoided jail after pleading guilty to soliciting child abuse material. He was sentenced to an 18-month community corrections order.

The County Court heard Caldwell used encrypted messaging applications TeleGuard and Telegram to request stories about underage boys from two men. The contacts occurred in January last year and this year, as well as on June 14 and 30, 2025. No images were shared, the court heard.

Judge Michael Patrick Bourke said imprisonment would normally be appropriate, but found an order was suitable because of mitigating factors including Caldwell’s early guilty plea. The court heard he had developed insight into his offending while on bail and had consistently engaged in psychological treatment.

Caldwell must complete 200 hours of unpaid community work, continue mental health assessments and treatment, and cooperate with corrections services. Two expert assessments found he did not have a paedophilic attraction, while experts noted a desire to appease people he spoke with on the applications.

Caldwell now lives in South Australia. Victorian corrections services will seek to transfer the order, which takes effect on December 10; if that cannot occur, he may need to return to Victoria to complete it.