The Dawson Twins Scandal: Murder, Abuse of Power, and Predatory Behavior of Sydney Teachers
The Dawson twins once enjoyed celebrity status on Sydney's Northern beaches, known for their athletic prowess as rugby league players and models. Their identical appearance and close bond made them stand out, eventually leading both to careers as high school PE teachers. However, beneath this seemingly perfect facade lay disturbing secrets that would take decades to fully emerge.
In 2022, Chris Dawson was convicted of murdering his wife Lynette in 1982, a crime that remained unsolved for 40 years. During the investigation, it was revealed he had been having an affair with a 16-year-old student. Now, serious allegations have surfaced against his twin brother Paul, suggesting a similar pattern of inappropriate relationships with underage students. Former student Shelly Oates Wilding has come forward with her story, describing how Paul allegedly groomed her when she was just 15 or 16 years old, using babysitting opportunities and his position of authority to initiate an inappropriate relationship.
Key Takeaways
The Dawson twins used their celebrity status and positions as teachers to gain access to vulnerable students.
Multiple women have come forward alleging Paul Dawson engaged in inappropriate relationships with them as schoolgirls.
Former students describe significant trauma and lasting impact from these experiences, with police investigations uncovering disturbing patterns of behavior.
The Dawson Twins' History
Path to Local Recognition
The Dawson twins, Paul and Chris, once enjoyed minor celebrity status throughout Sydney's Northern beaches. These identical twins shared remarkable physical similarities—both handsome, athletic men who excelled in rugby league and even worked as models. Their bond was exceptionally close, described as something unique that transcended typical brotherly relationships.
Their lives followed strikingly parallel paths. Both became physical education teachers at high schools on Sydney's Northern beaches, with Paul at Forest High and Chris at Cromer High. Their professional choices positioned them as authority figures to impressionable teenagers in the early 1980s.
The brothers were considered "superstars" in their community. Their athletic abilities, good looks, and charismatic personalities earned them significant admiration, particularly from students at their respective schools.
Life Parallels and Shared Behaviors
The twins' lives mirrored each other in uncanny ways. Both men:
Taught physical education
Had three daughters each
Selected matching license plates (Paul with "1TWIN" and Chris with "2TWIN")
Even underwent identical knee surgeries simultaneously
Their relationship dynamics were notable, with Paul frequently taking the leadership role between the two brothers. However, this seemingly perfect synchronicity concealed disturbing behavior patterns.
While Chris Dawson has now been convicted of murdering his wife Lynette in 1982 and for child sex offenses involving a 16-year-old student, serious allegations have emerged about Paul Dawson's conduct as well. Multiple women have come forward alleging inappropriate relationships when they were students under his supervision.
According to former students, both brothers appeared to exploit their celebrity status and positions of authority. Several women reported being asked to babysit for the teachers' families—situations that retrospectively appear to have been grooming behaviors rather than legitimate employment opportunities.
Police investigations have identified at least four women who allege Paul Dawson engaged in sexual relationships with them while they were underage students, with some incidents reportedly occurring around 1980-1981.
Chris Dawson's Downfall
Chris Dawson, once a celebrated figure on Sydney's Northern Beaches, experienced a dramatic fall from grace. The former rugby league player, model, and PE teacher maintained a façade of normalcy for decades while hiding dark secrets. His twin brother Paul stood by his side throughout most of his life, until legal proceedings finally separated the once-inseparable pair.
Murder of Lynette Dawson
In 1982, Chris Dawson murdered his wife Lynette, a crime that would remain unsolved for 40 years. At the time of the murder, he was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with a 16-year-old student who had initially been hired as his babysitter. The case attracted significant public attention, particularly because of Dawson's local celebrity status as a former rugby league player and model.
The investigation into Lynette's disappearance was complicated by Chris's insistence that she had abandoned the family. Law enforcement eventually built a case against him, with Detective Damian Loon dedicating nearly two decades to investigating the matter. The persistence of investigators finally led to justice four decades after the crime occurred.
Conviction and Other Allegations
In 2022, Chris Dawson was found guilty of murdering his wife Lynette. Following this conviction, he was also declared a child sex offender for his relationship with his former student. The court proceedings revealed disturbing patterns of behavior that had been hidden behind his public persona.
Serious allegations have also emerged against Paul Dawson, Chris's identical twin brother. Former student Shelly Oates Wilding has come forward with claims that Paul engaged in inappropriate relations with her when she was 15 or 16 years old during 1980-1981. According to police investigations, at least four women have alleged that Paul had sexual relationships with them while they were his underage students.
The twins, who shared remarkably similar lives—both PE teachers with three daughters each—maintained an unusually close relationship. Paul was reportedly the dominant personality between the two. Former students described how both brothers were viewed as "superstars" due to their good looks and athletic backgrounds, status they allegedly exploited to pursue inappropriate relationships with students.
Detective Loon revealed that complaints about Paul Dawson included allegations of group encounters involving multiple men and underage girls. The victims who came forward years later reportedly remained traumatized by their experiences, with one woman requiring three days to complete her police statement due to the emotional toll of recounting the events.
Shelly Oates Wilding's Journey
Learning Under Paul Dawson
Shelly Oates Wilding attended Forest High School on Sydney's Northern beaches, where Paul Dawson was her physical education and personal development teacher. As a student, she viewed him as charismatic and appealing—a local celebrity who, along with his identical twin brother Chris, had gained recognition as a rugby league player and model before becoming a teacher.
The Dawson twins enjoyed considerable popularity within the school community. Their good looks, athletic prowess, and magnetic personalities drew admiration from many students, including Shelly. The attention Paul showed toward her as a teenager felt exciting and special at the time.
Diary entries from Shelly's youth document Paul's presence at her extracurricular activities, including touch football games. Her meticulous teenage records include underlined phrases about Paul's appearance and notes about spending time with him outside of school hours.
Inappropriate Relationship Development
According to Shelly, Paul Dawson initiated inappropriate contact with her when she was approximately 15-16 years old, around 1980-1981. Their encounters occurred in various locations, including secluded areas on school grounds such as storerooms and the pool.
Paul frequently arranged for Shelly to babysit his children, insisting she stay overnight—a requirement she now recognizes as unnecessary and part of a calculated grooming pattern. "Young kids are not prey," Shelly now states firmly, reflecting on her vulnerability at that age.
Shelly recounts how Paul would arrange secretive meetings, sometimes picking her up along the side of the school building. She remembers being in situations with both Dawson twins present, noting, "They were used to doing this type of thing."
Her interactions with Paul often involved spending time with his twin brother Chris and the young student Chris was involved with. Shelly describes Paul as "always the leader" and "always in charge" in this dynamic, observing that he appeared dominant in all his relationships.
Police investigations have reportedly identified four different women who have alleged Paul Dawson had sexual relationships with them while they were schoolgirls. According to retired detective Damian Loon, who spent nearly two decades investigating the Dawson case, these women were "traumatized" when interviewed years later.
Today, Shelly lives in Hawaii, far from her Northern beaches upbringing. She has dedicated her life to childcare, providing young people with motivation and moral guidance—a mission stemming directly from her own difficult teenage experiences.
Paul Dawson's Alleged Misconduct
Patterns Similar to His Twin
Paul Dawson, like his twin brother Chris, achieved local celebrity status in Sydney's Northern Beaches as a rugby league player, model, and physical education teacher. The twins were remarkably close, almost inseparable throughout their lives. They shared identical career paths, both becoming PE teachers, had three daughters each, and even underwent the same knee surgery simultaneously. Their bond extended to matching number plates – "1TWIN" for Paul and "2TWIN" for Chris.
While Chris Dawson has been convicted of murder and child sex offenses, similar serious allegations have emerged about Paul. According to former detective Damian Loon, who spent 18 years investigating the Dawson case, police have received reports from at least four women claiming Paul had sexual relations with them when they were his underage students.
Inappropriate Relationships with Students
Multiple allegations suggest Paul Dawson engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with underage students during his teaching career. Shelly Oates-Wilding, a former student at Forest High School, has come forward with her story. She reports that Paul groomed her when she was 15 or 16 years old in 1980 or 1981, having her babysit his children overnight and initiating intimate physical contact.
Oates-Wilding's detailed diary entries from her teenage years document:
Paul attending her sports games
Meeting him outside of school hours
Instances of physical intimacy in school settings like storerooms and pools
According to Loon, police investigations revealed disturbing patterns:
Four different women have reported sexual relationships with Paul while they were schoolgirls
The first allegation surfaced over two decades ago
One student was confirmed to be 16 at the time
Some allegations involved both Dawson twins together with students
These women reportedly experienced significant trauma from these experiences. One former student's police statement took three days to complete due to the emotional difficulty of recounting these memories.
Former students describe how both Dawson twins used their status as local celebrities and attractive athletes to gain adoration from students, which they allegedly exploited inappropriately.
Investigation Findings
Detective Loone's Investigation Efforts
Retired detective Damien Loone dedicated approximately 18 years of his 35-year career to investigating the Dawson case. His persistent work helped build the case against Chris Dawson that eventually led to conviction. During his extensive investigation, Loone discovered concerning patterns beyond Chris Dawson's crimes.
Through his meticulous work, Loone uncovered multiple allegations against Paul Dawson as well. He revealed that police received complaints from at least four different women who claimed Paul had sexual relationships with them when they were underage students. The first of these reports came to police attention more than twenty years ago.
Accusations Regarding Paul Dawson
Several former students have made serious allegations against Paul Dawson, claiming he engaged in inappropriate sexual relationships with underage pupils. According to Detective Loone, at least four women have come forward with accusations, including Shelly Oates Wilding who recently shared her experience publicly for the first time.
Oates Wilding describes a pattern of grooming behavior, including:
Being asked to babysit Paul's children, with unusual requests to stay overnight
Being picked up secretly beside the school
Intimate encounters in various school locations including storerooms and the pool
Her detailed teenage diaries contain multiple entries about Paul Dawson, including notes about him watching her play sports and spending time together outside of school. Police requested these diaries when reinvestigating the broader Dawson case in recent years.
According to Detective Loone, the women who came forward were clearly traumatized by their experiences. "It took me three days to take a statement from one particular former student because it was such a long arduous task for her to remember and it was painful," he noted regarding the interview process with one accuser.
Psychological Impact on Survivors
Enduring Emotional Wounds
The aftermath of abuse by authority figures leaves lasting scars on victims' psychological well-being. For many former students who experienced inappropriate relationships with teachers, the trauma continues decades after the incidents occurred. These experiences often disrupt normal developmental processes during formative teenage years, leading to long-term trust issues and relationship difficulties. Victims frequently report that what seemed like special attention or flattery at the time was later recognized as calculated manipulation and grooming.
Some survivors meticulously documented their experiences in diaries or journals, which later became important evidence. These personal records reveal how teenagers interpreted the attention from respected authority figures as positive at the time, not recognizing the exploitation occurring. The power imbalance between teacher and student makes consent impossible, even if the teenager believed they were willing participants.
Pursuit of Accountability
Many survivors only come forward years or decades after abuse occurs, when they've gained perspective on what happened to them. Police investigations reveal that taking statements from victims is often a multi-day process due to the emotional difficulty of recounting traumatic experiences. For some, seeing one perpetrator face consequences provides motivation to speak about their own experiences with similar predators.
Several women have provided statements to authorities regarding alleged inappropriate conduct with underage students. Their testimonies describe disturbing patterns of behavior including:
Using babysitting as a pretext for inappropriate contact
Isolating students in storage rooms or other private areas
Attending students' sporting events outside school hours
Gradually increasing physical contact beyond appropriate boundaries
The courage to come forward represents both a personal healing journey and a desire to protect others from similar harm. For many survivors, public acknowledgment of wrongdoing is a crucial step toward processing their trauma and reclaiming their narrative.
Public Image and Betrayal of Trust
The Dawson Brothers' Celebrity Status
The Dawson twins enjoyed significant prominence in Sydney's Northern Beaches community before their darker actions came to light. Both Chris and Paul Dawson leveraged their identical appearances and athletic prowess to establish themselves as local celebrities. Their careers as rugby league players and models gave them a platform of influence and admiration. They later transitioned to becoming physical education teachers, positions that placed them in regular contact with impressionable students. Their twin bond was exceptionally close—beyond typical sibling relationships—with matching number plates (One Twin for Paul, Two Twin for Chris) and parallel life choices that included similar career paths and family structures.
Violation of Professional Boundaries
The investigation into the Dawson brothers revealed disturbing patterns of inappropriate relationships with students. While Chris Dawson has been convicted of both murder and child sex offenses, Paul Dawson now faces serious allegations from multiple former students. Four different women have come forward claiming Paul had sexual relationships with them while they were underage students under his care. Shelly Oates Wilding, now residing in Hawaii, has publicly shared her experience of being groomed by Paul when she was 15 or 16 years old. The manipulation techniques were calculated—having her babysit his children with overnight stays, organizing private meetings in school storerooms, and isolating her for intimate encounters.
Former detective Damien Loon, who spent nearly two decades investigating the Dawsons, confirms that complaints about Paul's conduct with at least four underage students have reached authorities. The psychological impact on these women has been profound; one woman's statement took three days to complete due to the trauma of recounting her experiences. Even more disturbing are allegations of "group sex" situations involving both twins and multiple young girls, revealing a systematic pattern of exploitation by men who abused their positions of trust and authority.
