SA court told former teacher Marco Chiro should be sentenced for kissing, not having sex with, student he persistently abused

DISGRACED former schoolteacher Marco Chiro says he should be punished only for kissing a student, not sexually abusing her, because a jury’s verdict does not prove him guilty of the more serious crime.

HIS persistent sexual abuse stripped a young woman of her dignity and his refusal to admit his conduct placed her life on hold for three years of hearings and trials.

Today, disgraced former teacher Marco Chiro told a court he should be punished only for kissing his then-student, because a jury’s verdict does not prove him guilty of the more serious crime.

Liesl Chapman, SC, for Chiro, said the District Court would be in error if it sentenced her client for persistent sexual exploitation on the basis he had intercourse with the student.

She said prosecutors had alleged Chiro’s conduct began with “hugs after class” and progressed to sex acts, and jurors may have been satisfied Chiro merely kissed the girl.

“I’ve not been able to find a case where the prosecution has (alleged) such a wide range of offences,” she said.

“We can’t have the prosecution saying they accept it’s enough (for jurors) to find there was kissing, and then ask he be sentenced on the basis of unlawful sexual intercourse.

“This court would then be sentencing my client for something of which he was never convicted.”

Chiro, 56, of Rostrevor, pleaded not guilty to the persistent sexual exploitation of a child.

During his first trial, prosecutors alleged the language teacher repeatedly sexually abused a female student throughout her time in high school.

Giving evidence, the victim — then 14, now an adult — said Chiro would communicate with her in foreign languages to discuss their unlawful affair without others understanding.

Chiro denied the allegations and jurors were unable to reach a verdict — Chiro was subsequently retried and found guilty after a day’s deliberation.

Today, the victim read a statement to the court outlining the effects of Chiro’s abuse, saying she had been “stripped of my dignity”.

“I don’t know how to describe what it feels like to come to your senses one day and realise you have been violated, not just once but for years,” she said.

“I don’t know how to describe the horror I felt when I realised what I had let happen to myself, and the horror I still feel.

“I thought I was in a real relationship, and that is the strongest, most persistent pain.”

She said she continued to suffer anxiety, depression, health and intimacy issues, was unable to work and had missed education opportunities including the chance to study overseas.

Those problems, she said, were exacerbated by the protracted nature of the court case.

“I’ve been trying to move forward from this crime but I’ve not made much progress because I’ve not been allowed to forget,” she said.

“This is three years of my life I will never get back because Marco Chiro, my abuser, has at no stage admitted his guilt and taken responsibility for his sexual abuse of me.

“I was forced to grow up too fast as a child, and grow up faster still to pursue justice.”

Judge Geraldine Davison remanded Chiro in custody for sentencing in four weeks.