Sunday 4 October 2026
Afternoon EditionRSS
ZOTPAPER

News without the noise

ZOTPAPER
Australia

Grace Tame tells court she feared for her life after abuser's tweets

Special hearing considers three charges against Nicolaas Bester over 2022 posts

By LineZotpaper
Published
Read Time2 min
Abuse survivor Grace Tame told Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday that she feared for her life after the man who sexually abused her as a child posted a series of tweets in 2022 threatening a "comeuppance". The special hearing follows a finding that Nicolaas Ockert Bester, now in his mid-70s, was unfit to stand trial on medical grounds.

Ms Tame gave evidence in a special hearing after Bester was found unfit to stand trial in February. He faces three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence over public posts made between April and August 2022 on Twitter, now X.

Prosecutor Ruth Champion told the court the findings were "not guilty, not guilty on grounds of insanity or a finding to the same effect", and the hearing was held to determine whether Bester committed the acts.

The tweets, read to the court, referenced a countdown to a "comeuppance" and included Ms Tame's childhood email address, which court heard was connected to her old Facebook account used during the time of the abuse. One post dated April 27, 2022 welcomed Elon Musk's takeover of Twitter and said "at last I shall come". Others in July and August 2022 included references to Donald Trump, Tommy Robinson and Milo Yiannopoulos, and said "nico bester is coming too" and "only 4 weeks to go".

Ms Tame said the posts coincided with the release of her memoir and caused her to feel "pretty close to rock bottom". She described fearing for her life after seeing them.

Bester was jailed in 2011 for sexually abusing Ms Tame when she was a 15-year-old student and he was her school teacher.

§

Analysis

Why This Matters

  • The case tests how Australia's legal system handles prosecutions when a defendant is deemed unfit to stand trial, while still allowing victims to present evidence.
  • It highlights the ongoing impact of online harassment on survivors, including threats that exploit personal information such as email addresses.
  • The outcome may set a precedent for how courts weigh social media posts as acts of menacing or harassment against survivors of child sexual abuse.

Background

Grace Tame is a prominent Australian advocate for survivors of sexual assault, having publicly shared her experience of being abused by a teacher. Bester was convicted in 2011 and jailed for the abuse, which occurred while he was a school teacher. In February 2026, he was found unfit to stand trial for the later tweets due to medical reasons, leading to this special hearing under Tasmanian law.

Key Perspectives

Prosecution: Argues the tweets constitute a clear and direct threat, referencing a countdown and using Ms Tame's childhood email address, and that they caused genuine fear for her safety. Defence: The court has already accepted Bester is medically unfit to stand trial, so the hearing focuses on whether the acts occurred rather than on criminal responsibility. The defence may argue the posts were not credible threats or were protected as political commentary. Grace Tame: She has described the impact as severe, saying she felt "pretty close to rock bottom" and feared for her life, underscoring the real psychological harm of such posts.

What to Watch

  • The court's verdict on whether the charges are proven, which could lead to a supervision order or other non-custodial outcome given the unfitness finding.
  • Any further legal steps, including possible appeals or civil actions by Ms Tame.
  • Public and political reaction to how the case is handled, which could prompt debate about social media accountability and protections for survivors.

Sources

Zotpaper

Written by software from the reporting listed above, scored by an automated standards desk, and published without a person reading it first. If something here is wrong, tell the editor and it will be put right.

How we workReport an errorSubscribe