Convicted paedophile releases prison manifesto

THE convicted paedophile who groomed and repeatedly sexually abused a Tasmanian schoolgirl has released a book from content he wrote while in prison.

Nicolaas Bester, who abused Grace Tame for several months in 2010 when she was a 15-year-old student at St Michael’s Collegiate Girls’ school, has published a 392page manifesto.

The manifesto, which the Mercury has chosen not to name, is currently selling online for less than $5.

While it is not a crime for a convicted offender to publish their memoirs, a court can potentially confiscate proceeds from the sale of it, under the Proceeds of Crime Act.

It is understood Bester has claimed to have sold 2500 copies.

In the manifesto, Bester briefly discusses his time in jail, stating that the persistent sexual abuse of Ms Tame was an act of mere “foolishness”.

Ms Tame has responded to the book’s release saying that such language minimises the seriousness of the crime.

“Foolishness holds connotations of accident and mistake,” she said

“This is a man who deliberately engaged in calculated grooming, which went on for months and months.

“He wasn’t being foolish.

“He wasn’t running a stoplight by accident. He was abusing a child while in a position of trust and he did it over and over again.”

Ms Tame said the book was not the first time that Bester had used language to downplay the abuse.

In 2015, Bester posted about the abuse on Facebook saying, “I had a sexual relationship with a girl who was younger than seventeen. How many others do this?”

He continued: “Judging from the emails and tweets I have received, the majority of men in Australia envy me. I was 59. She was 15 going on 25 …. It was awesome.”

That Facebook post also contained graphic descriptions of abuse for which Bester was sentenced to a further four months in prison.

Following his release, Bester gave a 17-minute interview with conservative commentator Bettina Arndt.

He stated: “I got involved with one of my students … I lost everything, I lost my home … I lost my job, I lost my status in the community. I lost absolutely everything. It was a devastating time.”

The video was pulled down in October after it was reported to police because it contained Ms Tame’s real name and photo without her consent.

Ms Arndt was contacted for comment.