‘Sobering’ number of child-sex offenders in SA schools revealed

Nine people sentenced for sex crimes over the past two years were either teaching at or connected to SA public schools, and a further five cases are before the courts, it’s been revealed.

Nine people sentenced for sex crimes over the past two calendar years were adults teaching at or connected to South Austral­ian public schools, the Education Department has revealed.

A further five cases remain before the courts.

The cases – involving sexual misconduct against children or possession of child-exploitation material – were reported to parliament’s budget and finance committee after questions from the Opposition.

“The safety and wellbeing of students and young people is our absolute priority,” a department spokesman said.

“Allegations of sexual misconduct are taken very seriously.”

Opposition education spokesman Blair Boyer said the cases showed the government was having to deal with the same sort of problems as the previous Labor administration and the issues should not be politicised.

“This is sobering data that shows why we must remain vigilant about keeping students safe and informing school communities of staff charged with sexual misconduct,” Mr Boyer said.

An alarming number of people sentenced for sex crimes over the past two years were connected to South Austral­ian public schools. Picture: Generic

In 2013, former Supreme Court justice Bruce Debelle delivered the findings of his royal commission into how allegations of sexual crimes are handled by the department.

He made 43 recommendations, all of which the department said it completed. These included protocols schools must follow about keeping parents, school boards and the Education Minister informed.

Schools must send letters to parents when a legal process begins and develops, including when charges are laid, when an accused appears in court and when a court case is resolved.

In 2020, there were 30 occasions when letters were sent to parents, up from 10 in 2019.

The department said 22 individuals had allegations made against them over the two years.

Of these, 13 were department employees – one was a principal, one an early-childhood worker, nine were teachers and two were support staff.

The other nine facing allegations consisted of three contractors, two volunteers and four other people connected to an education setting such as OSHC or family day care.

In eight of the 22 cases, the matter was dismissed or not proven – with nine people being sentenced and five cases still in progress.

Two staff have returned to duties, one was sacked and the other 19 were either not employed by the department or left as their contracts expired.

A department incident management directorate deals with the cases.