Queensland teacher who touched student’s genitals, exchanged explicit photos allowed to return to classroom

A school teacher who touched a former student on the genitals has been given the green light to return to the classroom next year after a calls for a lifetime ban were unsuccessful.

The Queensland College of Teachers unsuccessfully submitted that the teacher should be banned from the classroom forever. Picture: File

A state high school teacher who touched a 16-year-old former student on the genitals and asked if he could offer a sexual favour after they exchanged explicit photos on Snapchat has been given the green light to return to the classroom next year.

The teacher, whose identity has been suppressed, has been banned from teaching for six years backdated to March 2020 when he was suspended, according to a decision by Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal member Danielle Brown.

In her ruling handed down on January 30, but published online on Wednesday, Ms Brown described his actions as a “serious breach of trust” but ruled that the teacher can apply to be allowed to teach in March next year.

The Queensland College of Teachers unsuccessfully submitted that the teacher should be banned from the classroom for ever.

The QCT also submitted that the teacher gave the student “favourable treatment when he was his teacher”, a claim which was denied by the teacher and which the QCT later stated it did not wish to “pursue ...with any force”.

The tribunal heard the teacher touched the boy on the genitals and asked if he could and offered an explicit sex act during a driving lesson on 5 March 2020 which he did

without consent from a parent or the school.

The teacher and student met on the Grindr app. Picture: Thomas Trutschel

During the lesson, while the student was driving, the respondent teacher started to rub the student’s thigh and genital region and attempted to undo the teen’s pants.

The teacher, who had just over three years’ experience, then grabbed the boy’s penis in his hand and asked if he could give the boy a “blow job”, the decision states.

The teen said “no” and the teacher removed his hand from the boy’s penis.

The boy recounted that he was shocked and did not want the respondent teacher to touch him and just tried to focus on his driving to prevent an accident.

When the teacher asked if he was enjoying it, he just remained silent, the boy stated.

The teacher denies this, submitting he asked the student if he could touch him and he said “yes, that’s fine”, but he stopped and removed his hand when the student looked uncomfortable.

Earlier the teacher had sent explicit photographs of himself to the boy and requested and received explicit photographs of the student via Snapchat.

The teacher - aged in his mid-twenties - also sent, requested and received sexually explicit photographs of his former student of both their naked bodies and included photos “zoomed into the genital region”.

Upon first meeting on the 16-year-old on Grindr, described by the tribunal as a “dating app for gay men”, the boy told the teacher who he was and that he used to be the teacher’s student.

The teacher confirmed that was not an issue and continued, the decision states.

The teen had previously been taught by the teacher in 2018, when he was 14.

He was a student for less than a year as he moved schools before the end of the school year.

On 25 March 2020 the teacher was charged with offences of sexual assault and solicitation of child abuse material by using a carriage service.

Nearly two years later the charges were dropped by the prosecution.

In March 2021 he was charged with computer hacking and misuse for unauthorised accessing OneSchool records for the student between 28 January 2020 and 5 March 2020.

This is the portal used by the state education department to manage student records and information.

On 17 January 2022 the charge of computer hacking and misuse was discontinued.

Ms Brown concluded that the teacher’s behaviour was “overfamiliar and inappropriate” and disciplinary action was warranted, as he showed a lack of demonstrated insight and remorse and acknowledgment of boundary violations.

She noted that the teacher was seeking to progress his relationship with the student from messages and sexualised images to a more physical sexual conduct, and the only reason the sexual relationship had not advanced further, was due to the student resisting his advances.

Before the teacher returns to the classroom he must provide a psychologist’s report showing he is not a risk of harming students physically, psychologically or emotionally.

The teacher did not contest the claim that his conduct was inappropriate and he agreed there were grounds for disciplinary action and believes that what he did was wrong, but argued he was a trustworthy person who did not intend on harming anyone.