Former Teacher's Aide Escapes Further Jail After Judge Cites 'Mercy' for Online Abuse of Boys as Young as 11

A former teacher's aide who admitted six child abuse material offences has avoided further prison time in Sydney, after a judge cited 'mercy' and ruled that his time in custody and under strict house arrest amounted to substantial punishment. Thomas Gottaas, 20, was released on parole from Campbelltown District Court on Monday.

Gottaas spent more than four months on remand in 2025 before completing 189 days of house arrest while on bail. Judge Karen Robinson said those restrictions, alongside his time in custody, supported allowing him to serve the remainder of his sentence in the community despite offences involving boys as young as 11.

Gottaas Used Fake Profiles To Target Boys

Gottaas, who had worked as a teacher's aide and bartender, later pleaded guilty to six offences involving the use of social media to access, procure or transmit child abuse material.

The agreed facts before the court said he used two methods to obtain sexually explicit images and videos from boys.

One involved offering money in exchange for material, including sending one victim as little as $30 for sexually explicit images and videos. More frequently, he used fake social media accounts to coerce boys into providing material without payment, threatening to distribute existing images or videos if they refused.

Several aliases were created on Snapchat, including accounts through which Gottaas posed as a young girl.

He also communicated through Wizz, a social discovery app aimed at helping young people connect with others of similar ages.

According to the agreed facts, he began multiple conversations on Wizz with the message, 'Want to make $$$.'

Police identified five victims. Investigators also seized material that appeared to depict another seven boys who could not be identified, meaning the material appeared to involve 12 young people in total.

Judge Robinson emphasised that the nature of the offending remained serious. 'All offences involving child abuse material ... are inherently serious,' she said. 'There is a level of persistence and an element of deception.'

House Arrest Counted as 'Quasi-Custody' in Sentence

Gottaas was arrested days before his 19th birthday and remained on remand for more than four months during 2025.

After receiving bail, he spent 189 days under house arrest. Judge Robinson gave him a 40 per cent sentencing credit for that period, in addition to recognising the time he had already spent in custody.

The judge described the restrictions imposed during his house arrest as severe enough to amount to 'quasi-custody'. 'The combined impacts of the offender's house arrest... allow a finding that they are so harsh and restrictive that they amount to quasi-custody,' she said.

Gottaas is also required to remain on the NSW Child Protection Register for 15 years, while his sentence is due to expire in September 2029.

Judge Cites 'Mercy' in Former Teacher's Aide Case

In deciding against a further period behind bars, Judge Robinson also considered Gottaas's autism, poor mental health and trauma associated with a disrupted childhood. She found that he was on the road to rehabilitation and that continuing his sentence in the community was appropriate in the circumstances presented to the court.

Robinson emphasised the seriousness of the offending, pointing to the persistence and deception involved in obtaining the material. Her sentencing remarks also addressed how the punishment already served should be weighed alongside rehabilitation and the restrictive conditions imposed after Gottaas left custody.

'There is always a place for the exercise of mercy in a sentence,' Robinson said. 'This is one such case.'