Grace Tame Feared for Her Life Amid Alleged Threats From Abuser

Grace Tame, the 2021 Australian of the Year, testified in Hobart Magistrates Court on Tuesday, stating she "feared for her life" after learning of alleged social media threats made by her childhood abuser, Nicolaas Ockert Bester. Bester, 74, is accused of making threatening posts on social media directed at Tame, who has been an advocate for survivors of sexual abuse.

During a special hearing for Bester, who previously pleaded not guilty to three counts of using a carriage service to menace, harass, or offend, three Twitter messages from an account identified as NicoBester3 were read to the court. The posts, allegedly made in 2022, referenced Tame's school email address, which had been used by Bester to message her during the abuse in 2010 when she was his 15-year-old student.

One post read, "At last I will come for (the email address)." Another referenced Donald Trump and far-right figures, stating there were "10 weeks to go." A third post said, "Only four weeks to go! The good old comeuppance on its way (the email address)."

Tame told the court she became aware of these posts incrementally and realized the time references were a countdown to the release of her book. She described the posts as horrifying and terrifying, signaling "a very real commitment to follow through with some kind of public-facing plan to inflict harm upon me."

She expressed fear that Bester's mention of her childhood email was a threat to release sexualized messages exchanged between them during the period he groomed her. "I was also legitimately scared for my life," Tame stated, recalling Bester's past statements about killing people during his time in the army and his history of psychological torture and rape.

As a result of the alleged threats, Tame increased security for her nationwide book tour and said she was close to hitting rock bottom. Police constable Declan Gillett testified that a folder named "wraak"—Afrikaans for revenge—containing media coverage of Tame was found on Bester's portable hard drives. The court was also informed of an outgoing email from Bester's account to men's rights activist Bettina Arndt in 2017, which included an attached document with purported Facebook messages between Bester and Tame from the time of the abuse. Tame said that if she had discovered this email in 2022, it would have been devastating and potentially led her to "the end."

Bester, who has been diagnosed with dementia, was deemed unfit to stand trial in February due to medical reasons. In a special hearing, the court can make a finding of not guilty, not guilty on mental health grounds, or that a finding of not guilty cannot be made; a guilty verdict is not possible. Bester observed the hearing via video link. He was previously sentenced in 2011 to two years and ten months in jail for abusing Tame and possessing child exploitation material, and in 2016, he received a four-month jail sentence for producing child exploitation material after describing the abuse online.