Married teacher applied for bail, charged with having a sexual relationship with student at same school

A 56-year-old suspended teacher has made a bail bid after he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a schoolgirl for more than a year.

A suspended teacher has made a bail bid after he allegedly had a sexual relationship with a student at the same school he was working at for more than a year.

The 56-year-old married man applied for home detention bail in the Adelaide Magistrates Court on Monday, with police fearing he would try to contact the alleged victim if released from custody.

The man’s name and the school where he was employed and the alleged victim attended are currently suppressed due to ongoing investigations.

A prosecutor said they were opposed to the bail application, due to the seriousness of the allegations and concerns the man would try to interfere with the investigation.

“Police are currently investigating if other students may have been in contact with the accused and if he may have had inappropriate contact with them,” the prosecutor said.

A married teacher applied for bail, charged with having a sexual relationship with student at same school. Picture: File

“The accused has made contact with the complainant directly after having found out about the investigation.”

Court documents allege the man was in a position of authority to a girl under the age of 18 when he maintained an unlawful sexual relationship with her between February 2019 and October 2020 in Adelaide and other places.

The documents allege the man performed multiple sex acts on her and made her perform sex acts on herself.

The southern suburbs man is also charged with procuring a child for sexual activity and three counts of having sexual intercourse with a person under 18 years while he was in a position of authority.

The prosecutor said they had fears the man would abscond if released on bail and believed he had taken steps to delete evidence.

“The applicant has demonstrated a desire to self-harm to avoid responsibility in this matter,” the prosecutor said.

Casey Isaacs, for the man, said his client was stood down from his workplace in August last year but wasn’t charged until January.

Mr Isaacs said the man had now been in custody for four months and had ties to the state, including a house and his family.

The court heard the man’s wife was prepared to act as a guarantor.

Magistrate Brian Nitschke said he was prepared to order a home detention report and adjourned the application until next week.