Accused wife-killer Chris Dawson has been charged with a historic sex crime dating back to his time as a teacher on Sydney’s northern beaches.
Dawson is already facing a murder charge over the disappearance of his then-wife Lynette in Bayview in 1982.
The 70-year-old pleaded not guilty to the murder charge in the Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday morning.
Drone footage of police forensic search of Lyn Dawson’s house.
The former Cromer High School teacher then attended Surry Hills Police Station at midday and was charged with having carnal knowledge of a girl between the ages of 10 and 17.
The disappearance of Dawson’s former-wife became the subject of journalist Hedley Thomas’ internationally successful podcast, The Teacher’s Pet, which was published by The Australian newspaper.
The podcast also revealed allegations of sexual assaults and student-teacher relationships at high schools on Sydney’s Northern Beaches in the 1970s and 1980s.
It is alleged he engaged in carnal knowledge with a former female student in 1980, when she was 16 years old.
Detective Superintendent John Kerlatec said the charge came after an “exhaustive investigation” by a specialised strike force.
“It’s a very serious charge, it does relate to a 1980 charge, hence the term ‘carnal knowledge’, I will add that this investigation is continuing,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“Any other victim or any other person who has any other information we encourage them to come forward.”
Dawson was granted conditional bail for the carnal knowledge charge and ordered to front Downing Centre Local Court on 8 August.
Pleads not guilty to murder
The former husband of Sydney woman Lynette Dawson has formally pleaded not guilty to her murder.
Chris Dawson, a former rugby league player and teacher, was charged in December over the disappearance of his then-wife Lynette on Sydney’s northern beaches in 1982.
His lawyer Greg Walsh formally entered a not guilty plea at Downing Centre Local Court on Thursday.
The matter is due back before the same court on August 8.
The 70-year-old was extradited to Sydney from his Gold Coast home to face the murder charge.
Lynette Dawson’s disappearance was the subject of the highly popular investigative podcast series The Teacher’s Pet, which has been made unavailable in deference to the pending trial.
Ms Dawson was 33 when she went missing in early 1982, leaving behind two young daughters. Her body has never been found.