A primary school teacher who posed as a teen girl online to lure young boys into sending him sexualised material will spend at least 20 months behind bars after a judge ordered he be immediately imprisoned for his crimes.

Timothy Patrick Cordova faced the County Court of Victoria on Friday, where Judge Gavan Meredith said the 28-year-old’s offending had significantly impacted his 14 victims, most of who had attended the school where the teacher taught.

He said Cordova hid behind the fake online profile of a 14-year-old girl to communicate with his victims and gain their trust.

“Cyberspace is a place where adults can intrude upon the activities of children and young people, deceive them as to their identity and intentions,” Meredith said.

“Nine of your victims were members of the school community where you occupied a trusted position as a member of the teaching staff.”

Cordova pleaded guilty recently to 17 charges involving five different types of offending including the solicitation, transmission, production and possession of child abuse material.

After talking to his victims online using a fake profile under the name “Matilda Roberts”, Cordova then solicited material from his victims and in some cases instructed the young person on what he wanted them to do, while also sending child abuse images to convince them he was a teen.

While nine of his victims were members of his school community, others he came across only online. They included an 11-year-old Australian boy and a 14-year-old boy from the United States.

During a search of his home, police uncovered 5600 child abuse images and 16 homemade collages.

The collages included official school images Cordova had taken from his employer’s database – some of them from children’s swimming carnivals.

During his police interview, Cordova initially told investigators he created the fake profiles because he wanted to “get lesbians” and had never had a girlfriend.

During an earlier hearing, one of the victims said the “heinous” crimes had left him questioning who he could trust and said he faced a daily struggle to wake up.

The mother of another child victim said her son now lived with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety.

Meredith said while he was satisfied Cordova was generally remorseful, he noted “paedophilic disorder” had been strongly suggested by a specialist.

He said protection of the community was paramount in sentencing sex offenders and ordered Cordova be immediately imprisoned.

“The possession of child abuse material is not a victimless crime. [It] creates a market for the continued corruption and exploitation of children,” Meredith said.

“Offending involving child abuse material occurs on an international level and is becoming increasingly prevalent with the advent of the internet.”

The judge sentenced Cordova to four years’ jail with a non-parole period of 20 months.

If you or anyone you know needs support, you can contact the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or Kidshelpline on 1800 55 1800.

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