Tayla Lee Brailey: Former Sydney teacher jailed for having sex with student

A female teacher has been jailed for having sex with a 17-year-old student in his car during a school day and sexually touching a 16-year-old in a classroom.

Tayla Lee Brailey was arrested at a school in southwest Sydney in August 2024 after an investigation into reports of a student being sexually touched.

The 32-year-old faced Parramatta District Court after pleading guilty to five offences including sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old under special care and sexually touching a 16-year-old under special care.

She had been working as a teacher for years when she added the 17-year-old student on Snapchat and asked him not to tell anyone because it could get her into trouble.

The court was told the pair exchanged sexually explicit photos before meeting at Brailey’s house, where they kissed and touched each other.

On another occasion, she sent him a photo of herself during the school day and the Year 12 student suggested they go somewhere.

They met on a street and had sex in the teenager’s car before Brailey returned to school, the court was told.

In a separate incident, the teacher added a 16-year-old student on social media and asked him “do you like what you see?” before sending him a photo of herself in the shower.

She asked him for an explicit photo and replied “yum” when he complied, Judge Elizabeth Ryan told the court.

Brailey then kissed the teenager with tongue and they touched each other’s genitals in a classroom.

The younger victim told the court he had to leave high school because of the shame he felt.

“I don’t think that feeling will ever go away ... I don’t know what to do about it other than blame myself for interacting with her,” he wrote.

Brailey later declared she wasn’t attracted to children and viewed both teenagers as adults, whom she didn’t want to reject.

But Judge Ryan said that didn’t sit well and pointed to her pursuit of contact with the younger victim despite his reluctance.

“Throughout her offending, Ms Brailey knew what she was doing was wrong but she persisted with it,” she said, adding the teacher had taken steps to avoid detection.

She accepted Brailey had been experiencing symptoms of an undiagnosed bipolar disorder which manifested as impaired judgement and an increased sex drive, causing her to act out of character at the time of the offences.

The 32-year-old had expressed remorse for her actions and the impact on the victims, the court was told.

But the judge found jail was warranted for her breach of the high degree of trust placed in teachers to protect students.

“Ms Brailey made terrible mistakes,” she said.

“She used her position as a teacher and as an adult to abuse young persons.”

Brailey was sentenced to 15 months imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in April 2027.

Lifeline 13 11 14

Kids Helpline 1800 55 1800 (for people aged 5 to 25)

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028