Magistrate denies claim he ‘could not wait’ to find alleged gambling syndicate teacher Phil Saunders guilty

A hearing about a Wollongong teacher accused of running an in-class gambling syndicate has sensationally collapsed after a claim the magistrate told a prosecutor he “could not wait for the matter to be over and find the accused guilty”.

Phil Saunders leaving Wollongong Local Court in 2022 with his solicitor Sophie Newham. Picture: Dylan Arvela

A hearing into a teacher accused of running an in-class gambling syndicate has sensationally collapsed after a claim the magistrate told a prosecutor he “could not wait for the matter to be over and find the accused guilty”.

On Tuesday, Magistrate Michael Ong made the determination to recuse himself from the hearing of Wollongong High teacher Phil Saunders after the case had sat through 29 days of evidence spanning back to 2022.

The hearing was originally scheduled for five days after Saunders pleaded not guilty to two counts of indecent assault of a person under his authority, two counts of indecent assault of a person under 16, intimidation and engaging in gambling with a minor.

The prospect of the hearing being aborted surfaced in September when Mr Ong was made aware of a written statement from the officer in charge about an out-of-court conversation he said he had with a police prosecutor not involved in the case.

Mr Ong put forward a motion to recuse himself given the comments could lead to the perception of bias and potential prejudgement of the outcome.

Crown prosecutor Tim George submitted the decision for the magistrate to recuse himself was a matter for His Honour, however, Saunders’ barrister Mark Higgins advocated for the hearing to continue.

Phil Saunders leaving Wollongong Local Court in 2023. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Mr Higgins told the court Saunders’ legal fees had blown out to nearly $400,000 and binning the hearing would impact the dozens of people who have already given evidence in the drawn-out hearing.

The barrister said a “reasonable observer” would have taken the comment “in jest” or as an “opinion” and would not find Mr Ong had prejudged Saunders without hearing the entirety of the evidence.

The specifics of the purported comment were aired in court on Tuesday when Mr Ong said the officer in charge made the statement after having a conversation with a police prosecutor who had spoken to the magistrate.

Mr Ong said the claim was he “could not wait for the matter to be over and to find the accused guilty and move onto the next thing”.

The hearing took place at Wollongong Local Court. Picture: Dylan Arvela

“I deny any of the words against the accused in this matter attributed to me in the statement,” the magistrate said when handing down his decision, adding he did not say those words to “the prosecutor or any other person”.

“I do not hold a bias towards the accused now or at any time … I do not accept any bias before these proceedings,” he said.

Despite his stern rebuke of any assertion of bias, Mr Ong said the hearing had to be abandoned given a “lay person” with this information may perceive the magistrate to be “impartial”

“The overriding consideration is the public’s confidence in the system of justice as it applies to them,” he said.

“The public’s confidence would be more affected by the continuation (of the hearing) with potential bias.”

The court had previously heard evidence from multiple witnesses throughout the trial regarding the alleged intimidation of a former colleague, the indecent assault of two female students and the betting ring ran from a classroom white board.

A new hearing will need to be held with the court hearing 30 days would need to be allocated with it likely to be heard from a Sydney magistrate.

A date will be determined on September 29.

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