A former teacher on Sydney’s upper north shore allegedly molested five children at home, school and on his yacht over nearly three decades.
A court heard Rick Jarvis* taught high school from the 1980s until his 2011 firing over alleged inappropriate relationships with students.
The 75-year-old is accused of sexually abusing a year nine student on school grounds as well as three grandchildren and a family friend on his yacht, at his house and in his car. He allegedly discussed the allegations with two accusers and encouraged them to delete correspondence.
Documents released by the NSW Supreme Court following Jarvis’ failed bail bid revealed details of the 10 charges to which he has pleaded not guilty.
The Herald has used pseudonyms for the man and his alleged victims to protect the complainants’ identities.
Jarvis allegedly abused family friend Kate* 20 to 30 times when she was aged 5 to 11, mostly during sleepovers at his house and his Pittwater-moored yacht.
According to the Crown case statement, Jarvis would take Kate to her bed earlier than other children and tickle her before abusing her. She did not realise this was wrong until a school lecture on inappropriate touching years later.
In year 11, Kate accepted tutoring and driving lessons from Jarvis, believing she could prevent any inappropriate behaviour from escalating. During tutoring, he allegedly grabbed her bottom over her skirt, tried to touch her inner thigh and “brush[ed] past her breast area”. When Kate said “stop”, he replied, “relax” and “stop being so uptight”.
The Crown alleged Jarvis also tried to touch Kate’s thigh and ask about her sexual relationships during driving lessons. After one session, he allegedly emailed Kate “confessing his love for her and telling her he couldn’t listen to her talk about other boys”, stating their lessons had to end.
While teaching at an upper north shore school, Jarvis offered support to bullied year nine student Sarah*. He’d call her “pretty”, “nice” and “special” and often spent lunch breaks alone with her, the court heard.
The Crown alleged that during one class break, the pair collected English supplies from a storeroom. As they exited, Sarah allegedly felt Jarvis grab her bottom over her skirt. Shocked and unsure how to react, the Crown says she laughed and kept walking as Jarvis stayed silent.
Later that year, the documents state, Jarvis added the teen on Facebook, where they communicated for years.
Three of Jarvis’ granddaughters were allegedly molested and raped in his house and car between the ages of six and 13.
The allegations against Rose* occurred in his bedroom, lounge room and study, with Jarvis also accused of showing her a pornographic video.
While living with Jarvis for six years from age eight, Chloe said he made her sit on his lap and isolated her from others. The Crown alleges Jarvis regularly woke her in the middle of the night to assault her – leaving her confused and scared – and allegedly attacked her in his car while she pretended to sleep.
After Chloe and her mother moved out, the pair had no contact until attending a family member’s birthday party years later, where Jarvis allegedly looked at her “with a big smile”.
Prosecutors submitted Chloe stayed silent because she thought her family, who “praised” Jarvis, would not believe her.
Another granddaughter, Gemma*, was also allegedly regularly preyed upon and violated by the accused sexual predator.
In 2010, the NSW Department of Education investigated Jarvis over alleged inappropriate relationships with female students, leading to his dismissal the following year, according to the Crown case statement.
During the investigation, prosecutors allege Jarvis contacted both Kate (by email) and Sarah (via Facebook).
When Sarah expressed concern about getting into trouble, Jarvis replied: “No you won’t [get in trouble], you are allowed to communicate, just me that gets in the shit and if we don’t give them access to our accounts and get rid of this chatsetc [sic] there is nothing for them”.
Separately, he allegedly emailed Kate asking how his name came up and why he was suddenly being discussed.
Court documents confirm Jarvis was not arrested for another 15 years.
After Rose’s mother took her to report to police in 2023, several other alleged victims gave statements over the next three years. A NSW Department of Education representative provided records from their 2010 investigation.
Police arrested Jarvis in January 2026 while he was living in a caravan, and has remained in custody since.
Opposing his NSW Supreme Court bail application last month, the Crown alleged Jarvis “used his position of authority and trust to exploit the vulnerability of the child complainants”.
Its submissions noted child sexual offending is “insidious”, secretive and difficult to detect, with exposure relying on vulnerable victims speaking out.
Prosecutors were concerned the alleged crimes were often committed brazenly with others nearby and continued after Jarvis was fired from teaching.
The Crown tendered 2010 emails in which Jarvis promised to soon visit “what appears to be a female student in China”, while instructing her to delete and hide their correspondence as he was under investigation.
Jarvis was refused bail and will next face the District Court on Thursday.
He pleaded not guilty to 10 charges, including sexual intercourse with a person under 10, grooming a child for unlawful sexual activity, maintaining an unlawful relationship with a child and indecently assaulting a person under 16.
Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732), the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491, and Lifeline on 13 11 14.
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