Sarcastic stalker ex-teacher denied bail

A former teacher jailed for stalking a teenage student and his mother has been denied bail by a judge who has called out her breathtaking insolence.

A jury convicted Fiona Austin of stalking the boy over two periods between January 2015 and October 2016, calling and texting him thousands of times after reading his diary.

She had offered the boy they keys to her apartment if he needed a place to go, and had tried to pull him out of class for alone time.

In early 2016 she posted multiple PowerPoint presentations online, blaming the teen for the destruction of her life, but also claiming she wanted to see him again.

Austin was jailed for 18 months but applied for bail after filing an appeal against the jury's verdicts, on grounds including allegations the trial judge was biased.

Court of Appeal Justice Phillip Priest rejected her application on Wednesday morning, while also offering his views on her proposed grounds of appeal.

She claims the sentence was "influenced by the hostility of the trial judge" and was "designed to create the most scandalous of media reporting".

"At the very least, the evidence should have created reasonable doubt and would have if (trial judge) Michael O'Connell had not indicated to the jury he hated me and wanted me found guilty," she wrote in one document to the court.

Austin took issue with interruptions by the judge in her opening statement to the jury - she represented herself - and during her examination of witnesses.

But Justice Priest said he found those interruptions entirely justified.

At one point the trial judge sent the jury out of the room to offer Austin guidance on her opening.

"Her rebuke that she would present her case as she saw fit … was breathtakingly insolent," Justice Priest said.

He noted that in the bail application he had found her to be sarcastic and impertinent.

"As best as I can judge, the proposed applications for leave to appeal do not appear to have much in the way of merit," he said.

Austin has been eligible for parole since September 28, having served the minimum 12 months ordered by Judge O'Connell.

During the application Austin told Justice Priest if he did not grant her bail she would not appeal until after she was freed from prison.

She said she would not be released on parole because she would not acknowledge her guilt.