Award-winning piano genius, 30, accused of ‘manipulating and controlling’ a 13-year-old girl during a sordid sexual relationship after he groomed her on Facebook
- An acclaimed Sydney pianist has been charged with 20 child sex offences
- Jeremy So appeared in court on Saturday and was formally refused bail
- Police alleged he used Facebook Messenger to groom and control the girl
- So was studying at the renowned Sydney Conservatorium of Music in the city
A celebrated pianist has been accused of using Facebook Messenger to ‘manipulate and control’ a 13-year-old music student during a sordid sexual relationship.
Jeremy So, 30, faced Sydney’s Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday charged with 20 child sex offences which allegedly took place between 2009 to 2012 when he was studying at the renowned Sydney Conservatorium of Music.
His alleged victim was a student at Conservatorium High School, which is next door to the University of Sydney’s music school.
The court heard the award-winning virtuoso allegedly sexually abused the girl for the first time when she was just 14 years old.
So was aged 18 at the time.
Jeremy So, 30, faced Sydney’s Parramatta Bail Court on Saturday charged with 20 child sex offences which allegedly took place between 2009 to 2012 when he was studying at the renowned Sydney Conservatorium of Music (pictured)
Police fact sheets tendered to the court state that the complainant only felt safe to report the shocking allegations against the pianist after she had left the music industry, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The court documents allege So first contacted the girl on Facebook when he was in Year 12 at the selective Conservatorium High School.
‘This was the beginning of a manipulating and controlling relationship (where the pair spent) long hours talking on MSN Messenger which have been captured and provided to investigators,’ the police document said.
Their first face-to-face meeting allegedly took place in 2009 after So graduated to the University Conservatorium of Music next door.
The relationship then allegedly continued long after he took up a prominent job within the Conservatorium High School.
So is alleged to have urged the girl to ‘keep the relationship secret’ in the messages.
He is also accused by police of ‘controlling aspects of (the girl’s) life’ including her clothing.
When the girl turned 15 in 2011, So allegedly warned her ‘I can get arrested for everything we’ve done so far… I think it’s a decade in prison’.
Among the charges are seven counts of aggravated sexual assault, inciting a person under 16 years to commit an act of indecency, procuring a child under 14 years for unlawful sexual activity and inflicting actual bodily harm.
A celebrated pianist has been accused of using Facebook Messenger to ‘manipulate and control’ a 13-year-old music student during a sordid sexual relationship (stock image)
Police allege over the course of several years when the girl was aged 14 to 16, So directed the teen to perform sex acts at his apartment, as well as the alleged victim’s home and inside the practice rooms of the Conservatorium High School, court documents reveal.
Police swooped on the piano player who has performed at the Sydney Opera House and a host of other prominent International venues on Friday and arrested him at his home in Wiley Park in Western Sydney.
A search warrant was executed at the residence and his electronic devices were seized for forensic examination.
He was formally refused bail and Magistrate George Zdenkowski told the court despite his clean criminal record, a ‘substantial custodial penalty would be imposed’ if he is convicted.
So is set to face Central Local Court on Thursday.
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