“What kind of man would do that?”

A senior drama teacher who sexually touched two students before being caught with almost 18,000 acts of abuse against children as young as nine has been jailed for at least seven years and three months.

Aaron Wormald, 48, was sacked as head of creative arts at Jamison High School in western Sydney in 2022 after his “inappropriate” behavior towards three students was reported to police.

The youngest of his victims was sexually touched by Wormald during an afternoon class.

As Judge Graham Turnbull SC handed down his sentence in the New South Wales District Court on Thursday, he described his offending as “appalling”.

“What kind of man would do that,” the judge said.

“It’s an environment where safety is expected.”

The court heard how, during afternoon classes, Worwald instructed the young girl to try on a costume that was too big for her. He then asked her to “drop it,” exposing her bra and underwear. Then he pulled it back over her body, touching her waist and breasts.

“That was her teacher and she was physically exposed,” the judge said.

“It’s a breach of trust and authority.”

Another victim was touched on the waist and breasts by Wormald after he kissed her on the forehead in front of another teacher while congratulating her on her performance in a play.

He later pulled her in to kiss her again before asking to pick up his lunch order from the cafeteria.

The third victim had to get Wormald to sign a form to cancel his classes. The court heard Wormald pulled her towards him so she was “almost sitting on top of him”, held her forcibly and asked: “You’re not going to drop it for me, are you?”

She also told police Wormald asked her about her partner’s penis size and talked about sex and nudity in class “almost every day.”

“This is serious conduct,” the judge said.

“He should support and encourage children.”

The court also heard how Wormald created several fake Snapchat and Instagram accounts to elicit sexual material from both young girls and boys.

In one case, Wormald persuaded a 12-year-old girl to send explicit images of herself via Snapchat.

He told another victim – who was 14 years old – that he was a “good artist” and asked her to “send nudes” so he could draw them.

When she refused, Wormald told her that he had “cried” because he had spent $400 on equipment on the way home from school.

“They thought they were dealing with peers and other teenagers rather than a 40-year-old man,” the judge said.

During a search of his home, police found a total of 17,693 images and videos of child abuse on various electronic devices. The videos showed children as young as nine years old being sexually abused by adult men.

Wormwald wiped his eyes with a handkerchief as the verdict was announced.

“It is a very confronting read,” the judge said.

Wormwald received a 25 percent reduction in his sentence because he pleaded guilty to the charges at an early stage.

The court heard that Wormald was living in “crowds” and was drinking significant amounts of alcohol at the time of the offending.

He was given a total prison sentence of seven years and three months without parole and a main sentence of 11 years and eight months.

The sentence is backdated to June 29, 2022, when he was first taken into custody.

He will be eligible for parole for the first time on September 29, 2029, and his full term will expire on February 29, 2034.