Survivor of Yorke Pensinsula pedophile teacher Thomas Robert Ackland speaks about $500,000 lawsuit against SA Government

A man abused by Yorke Peninsula pedophile teacher Thomas Ackland has spoken out about his lawsuit and why the government is accountable for the crimes.

A single Snapchat message, received when he was just 14, started the criminal offending that robbed “Dennis” of control over his own life.

By the time he was 17, Dennis had been repeatedly abused by pedophile teacher Thomas Robert Ackland and, at 19, he watched his tormentor receive a 14-year prison term.

Instead of moving Dennis toward closure, however, the sentencing opened a new wound – the revelation that his years of suffering could have been avoided.

Former Kadina Memorial School teacher and convicted pedophile Thomas Robert Ackland. Picture: Facebook

“In sentencing it came out that the school had been informed, multiple times, that this was going on,” Dennis told The Advertiser on Friday.

“It came out that a staff member had made a Crime Stoppers report … despite those notifications, he was still not only a teacher but a co-ordinator.

“The school and the Education Department were aware of all these things and he was still given so much power and trust.”

Dennis has now filed a $500,000 District Court lawsuit against the state government, alleging it was negligent about and vicariously liable for Ackland’s crimes.

“The reason I’ve filed the lawsuit, and am speaking publicly, is I want to put pressure on the Department … I feel like it failed in its job, which was to protect all of us,” he said.

“I wouldn’t have been abused, and it wouldn’t have shaped my life in the way it has, if the Department had intervened and responded appropriately to the allegations it received.

“It needs to be held accountable for what happened, and it needs to fix things … I don’t want this to be swept under the rug just because he’s gone to prison.”

NO IDENTITY

Ackland groomed students using social media under the guise of mentorship and “guy talk”. Picture: Facebook

Dennis, now in his early 20s, was one of 11 boys abused by Ackland during his years working at Kadina Memorial School on the Yorke Peninsula.

“It’s hard to get a gauge on what I was like (before the abuse), because it happened at such a formative time,” he said.

“I was pretty book-smart and outgoing, but I don’t think I had an established identity.”

He said Ackland added him on Snapchat after a school camp.

“I can’t remember if he asked before he did it, or if he just added me, but I wasn’t super-surprised or concerned about it – I knew he’d added other students in the past,” he said.

Ackland then groomed and abused Dennis throughout 2019, 2020 and 2021.

“Everything that happened was in a space that he had complete control over – it was in his classroom, it was on a school camp that he was in charge of,” he said.

“Everything was framed in a way of him being in a position of power and authority over me, portraying himself as a mentor sort of role

“He framed (the abuse) as if it was no big thing, and he would try to shape my perceptions of events going on to feed his narrative … he’d frame awful things as normal.”

LACK OF CONTROL

Ackland abused “Dennis” in classrooms and on camps. Picture: Facebook

Dennis said Ackland’s arrest, in April 2021, brought “a combination of relief and fear”.

“I was relieved the abuse was over, but the reason I had not come forward was because I did not want any of this to become public – but that’s what it became,” he said.

“I didn’t want my family to have to deal with it, I was trying to protect them … I’d felt that by keeping it a secret, I had some sense of control over it.

“When he was arrested, I didn’t have even that tiny bit of control anymore … my family, my friends, my teachers and my community became aware.”

Dennis said he did “not want to be seen as a victim”, nor did he want those he loved “hurt by” his experience.

Fortunately, he received “amazing” support from his friends, family and teachers – but not from the Education Department nor social media commentators.

“I’d really like people to understand the lack of control and power, and how small and weak you’re made to feel, when you’re being abused,” he said.

“The outlook that some people have, particularly about men as victims, is very limited.”

ACCOUNTABILITY

Ackland was jailed for 14 years, and “Dennis” is now suing the state government. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Brenton Edwards

Ackland’s case was originally slated for trial, but resolved by way of plea bargain following consultation between prosecutors and Dennis.

“I didn’t like that I was being given control over other victims’ experiences, and I wanted him to go to jail for as long as possible, but I also didn’t want to go to trial,” he said.

“The sentence was really good, amazing, and much longer than I’d expected him to get.

“There were so many systems involved in this that I had felt failed by, and I was elated … I was not expecting a sentence that reflected the damage he had done to my life.”

Dennis said the abuse had “shaped” his self-perception, leaving him to “really struggle with my identity as a person”.

“It’s affected my relationships and given me a lot of intimacy issues, and I struggle to feel comfortable around people,” he said.

“Seeing the effect it’s had on the people around me, who I love and care for, is crushing … it’s just been such a hardship for them.

“It happened at such a formative time that I didn’t get the opportunity to figure out who I am … I think I’m only doing that now.”

Part of that process is pursuing his civil claim, even if it means returning to court.

“He added me on Snapchat when I was 14, he was arrested when I was 17, I was 19 when he was sentenced, now there is the civil case,” Dennis said.

“I feel like my life has been centred on this, that I’ve been under the thumb of this for so long.

“But accountability is the big thing … I want to shed light on everything that’s happened so that the Department takes accountability and fixes things.”