Bail revoked for former teacher Anthony Rex Virgo who sexually abused three students in the 1980s

A respected teacher who taught at several schools in Adelaide will have his first taste behind bars after his sinister secret was exposed 30 years later.

A teacher who went on to live an “impeccable life” lost everything after his sexual abuse of three students in the 1980s came to light.

Anthony Rex Virgo, 59, had his bail revoked in the Adelaide District Court on Friday after he used his position of trust to commit the ultimate act of betrayal.

The court heard Virgo preyed on the students between 1986-1988.

“It was Mr Virgo’s obligation and responsibility to ensure that those boundaries were maintained with students at all times,” a prosecutor said.

The prosecutor read two victim-impact statements to the court on Wednesday.

Virgo’s third victim, who was only 15 at the time of the abuse, said the offending left her with “fear, shame and some ongoing trust of men in authority”.

Anthony Virgo outside court at an earlier appearance. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Naomi Jellicoe

“I realised that I had been manipulated by a selfish man,” she wrote.

“Mr Virgo was viewed by many as a ‘pedophile’ who thought that he was untouchable, God’s Gift.

“Tony Virgo did the wrong thing. That should be clear, recognised and not ever repeated.”

The victim said she eventually reported Virgo after fearing other young people would be at risk.

The McLaren Flat father pleaded guilty to three counts of persistent sexual exploitation of a child.

Michael Woods, for Virgo, told the court he started teaching at the end of 1985 and his first victim was a student while Virgo was working at Adelaide High School in 1986.

“He says she felt like a peer, not a student,” Mr Woods said.

“He thought the risk at that time was worth it, perhaps not appreciating the seriousness of it … and certainly not the consequences of it.”

Mr Woods said he didn’t believe the offending towards the first victim was predatory and the girl’s parents accepted Virgo into their family.

The court heard Virgo started working at another school in 1987 and met the second victim who was aged 16.

Mr Woods admitted that the third victim, who was 15 at the time of Virgo’s offending when he was almost 25, was the most serious.

However, he said Virgo had lived an “impeccable life” since the offending.

The court heard Virgo taught at Northfield, Henley Beach, Adelaide, Fremont and Windsor Gardens schools before getting permanency at Wudinna in 1990.

He then taught at Hamilton Secondary College in Mitchell Park from 2000 to 2020, where he was a “very decorated and well-regarded teacher”, and the director of their space program.

However, after the charges came to light, he was suspended and his teaching registration was eventually cancelled.

The court heard Virgo had written “heartfelt” letters of apology to his victims.

“This man is to lose everything, he’s already lost his reputation, he’s likely to lose his freedom, his career … his house and his self-respect,” Mr Woods said.

“He’s a man who’s ashamed, describes himself as an idiot who was immature at the time of these matters.”

In the Adelaide District Court on Friday, Judge Press revoked Virgo’s bail and adjourned the charges for sentence in September.