Canberra teacher pulled knife on student, gave ‘embarrassing’ revenge porn lesson, investigation found

A secretive internal investigation found it would be “harsh” to sack a teacher who pulled a knife in class.

A Canberra schoolteacher pretended to violently stab a young female university student with a steak knife during a bizarre classroom demonstration and allegedly made “inappropriate” comments about teenage girl’s large bouncy breasts and short skirts, but is still working in schools, documents reveal.

The veteran male teacher was handed only a minor sanction over a string of disturbing acts he committed at work.

Parents have been kept in the dark over the case because of the ACT Education Directorate’s secretive internal disciplinary procedures, and the ACT government last week launched urgent and costly Supreme Court proceedings in a bid to keep the teacher’s identity under wraps.

A teacher remains working at a Canberra school despite pulling a knife in class. It is not known what school he works at. Picture: Supplied

Documents, released under Freedom of Information laws, show the veteran schoolteacher was found guilty of serious misconduct and branded “unprofessional” following his conduct towards the university student, who was on a compulsory teaching placement at his school.

The male teacher forced his victim to role-play being in an “intimate relationship” with him, in which “(she) sends me some nudes and I forwarded them on to other people”.

The role-play with the “embarrassed” woman formed part of an unsanctioned presentation to his class about “revenge porn”.

The internal investigation found revenge porn was not a part of the approved curriculum for the class.

The teacher’s actions later turned violent, when he conducted a rogue “self defence” class, in which he left his victim badly bruised.

A Canberra schoolteacher used a stolen steak knife to make “stabbing motions” at a student teacher as part of an unsanctioned, violent “self defence” lesson. Picture: iStock

According to an investigation report, the teacher used a steak knife from the school’s staff kitchen to make “stabbing motions” at the university student.

The woman backed away from the teacher in fear, and an investigation found the demonstration was “highly inappropriate and violent”.

The teacher also hit his victim so hard in the arm she was left with bruises, and restrained her on the ground with a martial arts move in which he boasted he could break her arm.

Self defence is also not a part of the school curriculum in the ACT.

Disturbingly, the investigation into the teacher suggests he was willing to use students in his violent demonstrations.

It is not known which school a violent, unprofessional Canberra teacher is now working at.

A Canberra teacher remains working despite holding a knife to a student teacher.

“(The victim) recalled at no stage did (the teacher) ask if (she) wanted to participate in the (self defence) demonstration and recalled (she) was put on the spot when no one else volunteered,” the report said.

A senior education bureaucrat, Rory Martin, had planned to make a finding of misconduct over the “revenge porn” incident but “reconsidered” his position for reasons which are not stated in documents released by the department.

“In reconsidering the information, I have determined that misconduct did not occur in relation to (the) allegation,” Mr Martin said.

A Canberra schoolteacher forced a university student to role-play sending him “nudes” during a lesson to school students.

Mr Martin found the teacher guilty of three counts of serious misconduct over the violent self defence class, and said he brought the ACT public school system into disrepute.

The woman also alleged the teacher told her he was distracted by a teenage girls’ bouncy breasts and short skirts.

“Did you notice (a student) has such big boobs. I just don’t know where to look sometimes,” it was alleged he said.

The woman also said the teacher said to him another teenage student: “had a really short skirt on and that I could see right up to it and throughout the lesson I felt like my eyes kept going back to it and I could see everything.”

An internal investigation could not determine exactly what the teacher said, but Mr Martin found his comments were “unprofessional and therefore inappropriate”.

“You should be reminded about engaging in such conversation relating to student’s appearance with other(s),” Mr Martin said.

A Canberra schoolteacher allegedly made comments about teenage girls’ bouncy breasts and short skirts, but kept his job.

Another bureaucrat, Deb Efthymiades, said it would have been “potentially harsh” to sack the teacher, but that it was “difficult to understand” why he acted in the way he did.

The teacher was at first suspended on full pay, but has since returned to work after receiving a written reprimand.

His pay has also been docked an unspecified amount and he was ordered to write an apology letter.

Heavily redacted documents mean it is unclear precisely what other “remedial action” education bureaucrats took.

Internal documents suggest education officials did not report the case to police.

Education directorate spokesman Paul Short said the government took staff misconduct “very seriously”.

Education Minister Yvette Berry was repeatedly asked whether she thought it was appropriate that a violent pervert was still teaching in an ACT public school, but declined to answer.

Ms Berry instead issued a general statement saying “appropriate actions were taken”.

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