Phil Saunders hearing: Former Wollongong High School teacher questioned over intimidation of colleague

An Illawarra teacher accused of running a sporting gambling syndicate in his classroom has denied he intimidated another teacher after she complained about his supervision of students.

Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts teacher Phil Saunders at Wollongong Local Court. Picture: Dylan Arvela

An Illawarra teacher accused of running a sporting gambling syndicate in his classroom has denied he intimidated another teacher after she complained about his supervision of students.

Phil Saunders took the stand and was cross examined as his hearing continued in Wollongong Local Court on Thursday.

Saunders, 49, has pleaded not guilty to six charges including 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 Crown alleges the Wollongong High School PDHPE teacher went on a “tirade” towards his colleague, Sally Johnston, where he told her “you better watch who you mess with, you don’t know who you’re dealing with” while pointing his finger at her.

Saunders told the court he was not aggressive nor shouting and was not on a “tirade” while he addressed his colleague.

Phil Saunders during his hearing. Picture: Dylan Arvela

The court heard Ms Johnston said to him, “you should have been more responsible”.

Saunders claimed he said, “don’t speak to me like that in front of the kids” as he was close by to three students.

Saunders denied he “dominated” the conversation and said he did not “tell her off”.

Saunders said there was no “disagreement” but he rather he asked her why she did not come to see him first instead of making the complaint, adding it was “something so minor”.

The court heard Ms Johnston had submitted a complaint about Saunders’ conduct which she alleged occurred while the pair were supervising a group of students paddleboarding at Wollongong’s Belmore Basin in February 2021.

Saunders said he went to sit in his car with the heater on, after he marked the roll and the students were in the water or on the beach.

Saunders said the paddleboard company supervisors had the “duty of care” while the students were in the water, as was Ms Johnston.

He said he felt sick but was “supervising from the car” noting he could see some of the students on the beach and in the shallows of the water.

Saunders said he did not tell a supervisor he was sick, adding “I wanted to stay and stick it out” before he helped the paddleboard company pack up.

Wollongong High School of the Performing Arts Phil Saunders leaving Wollongong Courthouse. Picture: Dylan Arvela

Crown prosecutor Tim George repeatedly asked Saunders if he was lying about his evidence, which he denied, and grilled him about specific words that were said during the alleged intimidation incident and at the harbour.

In relation to the betting allegations, the court previously heard there was a whiteboard in Saunders’ classroom which kept track of the bets, however, the accused claimed it was a tipping competition devoid of cash.

On Thursday, Saunders said there were four male students’ names on a whiteboard in his classroom and he became involved with his name being indicated with a ‘P’.

He said he was approached after a weekend when the boys asked him for $2 to which he said “you can’t do this, I can’t put in any money”.

Saunders said by the end of the week more names of students had been written on the board and he told them, “this must stop, there better not be money involved”.

He said he then told a supervisor about the tipping competition because he did not believe the students had stopped.

Saunders is expected to finish being cross examined when the hearing resumes on April 12 before the allegations of indecent assault will be heard from April 15.