A pedophile teacher who abused former Australian of the Year Grace Tame will face a special hearing over allegations he harassed her online.

Nicolaas Ockert Bester, a former teacher at several Hobart schools, was jailed in 2011 for sexually abusing Tame when she was his 15-year-old student.

The 73-year-old was charged in 2022 with using a carriage service to menace, harass or cause offence when he allegedly made public posts on social media about and directed at Tame.

It is alleged Bester wrote posts that a reasonable person would regard as being menacing.

He pleaded not guilty in 2023 to three counts of the charge and in February was deemed unfit to stand trial for medical reasons.

Bester’s lawyer Todd Kovacic had previously told the court his client suffers from vascular dementia.

The matter returned to Hobart Magistrates Court on Wednesday, with a three-day special hearing date pencilled in to start on September 28.

Special hearings are used to determine the guilt of a defendant after they have been deemed unfit to stand trial.

The admissibility of an interview with Bester was the only “live issue” in the case, Kovacic told the court.

A hearing on July 20 would be used to determine whether the interview could be used as evidence in the case, if a decision isn’t made prior, the court was told.

In February, the court was told Bester was a previously high-functioning individual but had suffered at least three strokes, several falls, a brain clot and other issues in recent months.

Bester, who didn’t appear in court on Wednesday, has previously used a walking frame to attend proceedings.

After serving one year and nine months for abusing Tame, he was jailed again in 2016 for producing child exploitation material after making reference online to abusing her.

Tame has advocated for survivors of sexual assault and was named Australian of the Year in 2021.

1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)

National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028

–AAP