Stuart Van Dyken: Inner west teacher brands student ‘delusional’
The trial of a schoolteacher accused of performing a sex act on a student in an empty classroom has been played the man’s initial police interview in which he brands the complainant ‘delusional’ and a ‘drama queen’.
Inner West
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A teacher alleged to have performed a sex act with a student has denied the accusation and branded the girl “delusional” and a “drama queen”.
Stuart Van Dyken is on trial alleged to have forced a teen to perform a sex act on him after class at an inner west school back in 2018.
The judge only trial was shown a video of his initial police interview in which the Leppington teacher vehemently denied the allegation.
“It’s all B.S, and it didn’t happen,” he said in the police interview.
“I don’t know where she’s got this from...this girl is delusional”.
He also told police “(they) call her the drama queen”.
During the interview Van Dyken told detectives about an incident which in part matched the circumstances surrounding the alleged sexual assault as described by the complainant.
He said the girl had come to his office and asked for help with schoolwork after school.
He said he told her to find an empty classroom, and later met her there.
After she began talking about her personal life instead of doing the work, he got angry and told her to leave, he claimed.
He has pleaded not guilty to charges of sexual intercourse with a child under special care and inciting a child over 16 under care to perform an act of indecency.
The detectives then read the student’s statement to Van Dyken, which included that he had asked her to meet him in an empty classroom for the purpose of oral sex.
“I started to unbutton or unzip his pants,” the detectives read from the complainant’s statement.
“She didn’t unbutton my pants. She didn’t unzip my pants … It didn’t happen,” Van Dyken replied.
The girl’s statement then alleged he threatened to initiate oral sex to which he responded: “I did not threaten … This did not occur.”
The complainant’s statement stated the girl stopped the sex act, before repeating “I can’t do this”.
“It didn’t happen,” Van Dyken said.
The court also heard the complainant allege the teacher told her that no one could find out about what had happened.
“Didn’t say it … Didn’t happen,” he added.
Van Dyken claimed he had instead got angry with the girl as she was failing to take her work seriously.
“This is when I told her to get out,” he said. “This is when I got the sh**s and said if you’re not going to take this (the work) seriously...”
He told the detectives he may have told her to “stop wasting my f**king time”.
The officers also questioned Van Dyken about photographs, alleged to be of the complainant, which were saved in a hidden ‘Keepsafe’ app on his phone.
“I don’t recall taking them,” he repeated multiple times.
He also couldn’t tell the police who was in the pictures.
Van Dyken is set to give his evidence when the trial continues on Thursday