Former Cedar College employee Simon Jettner acquitted of indecent assault, but magistrate describes his conduct as ‘troubling’

A former Cedar College employee has been found not guilty of indecently assaulting teenage students – but a magistrate described his conduct as “completely inappropriate”.

A school worker has been acquitted of indecently assaulting two students by a magistrate who described his conduct as “completely inappropriate”.

Former Cedar College school support officer Simon Andrew Jettner, 48, was found not guilty of five counts of indecent assault against two students between 2014 and 2016 on September 13.

In his judgment, Magistrate Brian Nitschke described the context around Mr Jettner’s conduct with students aged 14 and 15 as “deeply troubling” – but ruled his actions did not meet the legal definition of indecent assault beyond reasonable doubt.

He found Mr Jettner had communicated with a female student via text message, spoke to a student about his sexual relationship with his wife, smacked a girl on the bottom with a piece of wood and stood behind her in a “body hug” when demonstrating how to use woodwork equipment.

Simon Jettner was found not guilty of indecently assaulting two female students – but a magistrate ruled his conduct was “completely inappropriate”.

“There is no doubt that the defendant maintaining a text communication with a year 9 female student, especially where it can be inferred that it is unbeknown to the parent of that student, is completely inappropriate,” Mr Nitschke said.

“The face-to-face contact between the defendant and (the victim) outside class time, in the circumstances in which they occurred, is deeply troubling.”

Outside of class, Mr Jettner had spoken to one of the alleged victims on two occasions about aspects of his sexual relationship with his wife, Mr Nitschke said.

Following a trial in the Adelaide Magistrates Court, Mr Nitschke found the prosecution case had not met the “very demanding standard” of proof beyond reasonable doubt to sustain a guilty verdict.

However, he said that did not mean the two students were lying.

“My verdicts should not be interpreted as a finding that either (of the alleged victims) have deliberately lied in their evidence. I do not make that finding,” Mr Nitschke said

He found Mr Jettner applied deliberate force during incidents where a teenage student was smacked on the bottom with a piece of wood, and when he stood behind her and gave her a “body hug” to show her how to use a wood sander and file.

However, there was nothing “overtly sexual” about the contact and it did not meet the legal test for indecency, he found.