Qld tribunal finds former teacher should be banned over inappropriate dealings with three students
A former school head of department has been banned from applying for a teaching position following multiple allegations, including that he kissed one in three students, made sexual comments, talked about losing his virginity and sent more than 2,700 emails.
In its decision published on Friday, the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal found the teacher engaged in inappropriate behavior towards three students who claimed he kissed one of them, invited them onto his property and touched them in his office and classroom.
It was also revealed that the Ministry of Education’s file server contained indecent photographs of female students taken at the school’s swimming carnival.
The man, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, first registered as a teacher in July 1996 and served as head of department at a Queensland state high school between 2013 and 2019. He also served as deputy director in 2018.
His registration was suspended in 2020 and he was terminated by the Ministry of Education in 2021.
During the June-July 2015 school holidays, the teacher met the Grade 10 pupil, known in the documents as Student C, kissed her and told her she was “very beautiful”. Court documents state he met with her multiple times.
Between 2015 and 2017, he exchanged approximately 2,757 emails with the student through their school accounts; these include inappropriate messages such as “You are so cute”; “I like the outfit, maybe something different… or less!”; and “You looked beautiful today.”
In July 2017, she wrote: “Honey, let it go. Wait a few more days and we’ll talk.” He also wrote: “I consider myself lucky every time I see you.”
Over the course of two years, he met the student in his office outside regular school hours and hugged and kissed her several times. He put his hands under her shirt and his hands under her underwear, according to court documents.
When he visited her at work, he gave her perfume bottles and also a necklace.
Between 2016 and 2017, he exchanged sexually explicit images and videos with the student via email and by the student giving him a USB drive.
Previous allegations against the man include that in 2012 he spoke to a then-grade 9 pupil in the school hall and said words to the effect of: “I heard some boys from grade 10 say they want to fuck you.”
Between 2012 and 2015, he told the student, known in the documents as Student A, “you’re so attractive” on more than one occasion. In 2014, when she was an 11th grader, she said words to the effect: “If I were a boy your age, you would be exactly the kind of girl I would want.”
He touched the student’s buttocks on more than one occasion and hugged her in his office and classroom.
He gave her his personal phone number, and in late 2015, when he had just graduated, he invited her to his house to give her a gift. Court documents allege he misled the former student by telling him his wife and children would also be in the dormitory, but he was alone when the student arrived.
He was accused of inappropriate behavior with another student, known in documents as Student B, between 2012 and 2015. The allegations included that he hugged her when she was upset after English class in the 9th grade, and on another occasion, he pressed her by the waist and held her by the waist. He touched her buttocks many times.
The teacher stated that she lost her virginity with Student B and said, “You are really attractive, you don’t realize how attractive you are. I wish there were girls who looked like you when I was at school.”
The allegations also included allegations that he invited her to his home in January 2019 to “come back” and misled her by claiming others would be there, as was the case with Student A, but when the student arrived he was alone.
During the department’s investigation, the teacher denied most of the allegations.
The court accepted evidence that Student C was first kissed in mid-2015, when she was 14, and that a sexually explicit video of the student, taken in 2017 when she was 16, was found on the school computer.
He admitted to “having excessive sexual intercourse with Student C” in 2019, according to the documents.
The emails revealed that Student C had sent emails to the teacher indicating that she was vulnerable to self-harm.
“We have no evidence of this before us. [the teacher] “He reported this to an appropriate person, contrary to his obligations.”
The court found that the teacher had behaved inappropriately towards each of the three students and had indecent images on his computer at work.
Considering the teacher’s age and life experience, it was stated that there was a significant power imbalance between him and the students.
“Between 2012-2019 [he] “He was a teacher in his 40s with approximately 15 or more years of experience and had held a position of seniority, leadership and responsibility as department head since at least 2013 and assistant principal in 2018.”
The court said the teacher had essentially chosen not to participate in the case and so there was little evidence to show steps had been taken to address the reasons for his failure to maintain professional boundaries.
“We found this [the teacher] The court said re-applying for registration or teaching permits should be prohibited indefinitely.
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Cloe Read is the Brisbane Times’ crime and courts reporter.Connect with: X or email.
