Why hundreds of NSW teachers are sacked as sexual assault, child porn cases uncovered
Hundreds of NSW educators have been sacked or forced to resign by the education department, as a western Sydney teacher is set to learn his fate after sexually touching two students.
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Almost 1000 teachers across NSW have been sacked or ordered to resign by the education department in the last ten years – with dozens of educators’ employment terminated over sexual assault against students, misconduct, and child pornography allegations.
The Sunday Telegraph can reveal 955 teachers had their contracts terminated from 2013 to 2022.
“Teachers were dismissed from their teaching positions for proven allegations of misconduct or failing an improvement program,” the Education Department report into teacher conduct and performance said.
“Disciplinary or remedial action, which may include dismissal, is taken against a teacher where an investigation finds they have engaged in misconduct or remain unsatisfactory following participation in an improvement program.
“The department monitors matters where employees, including teachers, are charged with serious criminal offences, manages risk, and takes appropriate disciplinary or remedial action when court or police action is completed.”
A massive 216 teachers were sacked or resigned over performance concerns, while 173 additional teachers were “deemed inefficient” by the department.
A shocking 33 teachers were found to have engaged in sexual misconduct with a student, 13 more had their employment terminated over sexual offences and 22 for child pornography.
Meanwhile, 74 teachers, executive teachers and principals were forced to undertake an improvement program by the education department in 2022 alone.
“Teachers identified with performance concerns are provided support through a range of strategies targeted to the specific areas of concern,” the report to the department stated. “Early intervention has resulted in one-third of teachers demonstrating improvement without the need to be progressed to a formal improvement program.”
A department spokeswoman said the safety and wellbeing of students was its “greatest priority”, with “any allegations of teacher misconduct, including alleged sexual misconduct, are investigated quickly and reported to authorities”.
The shock findings come as disgraced western Sydney high school teacher Aaron Wormald is set to learn his fate after pleading guilty to sexually touching two students – as well as the possession of thousands of child abuse images and videos next month.
The Blue Mountains man and former Jamison High School music teacher pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated sexual touching; intentionally sexually touching a child under 16 years; common assault; three counts of possessing child abuse material; eight counts of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material; and one count of using a carriage service to send indecent material to person under 16.
He will face a sentencing hearing on April 19, with a psychiatric report ordered by the court.
Meanwhile, former PE teacher, Katie Smith, severed more than a year behind bars after pleading guilty to fondling a 14-year-old student in a school carpark and grooming him by sending explicit Snapchat pictures and videos over three months in late 2018 and early 2019.
The former high school teacher pleaded guilty to grooming, indecent assault and sexually touching a child between 10-16 years after one of the videos she sent the teen was circulated around the school.
Former Blaxland High School music teacher David Leishman was convicted of aggravated sexual touching another person, after he touched a student on the breast and buttocks before kissing her.
He was sentenced to 13 months behind bars for the sexual assault offences in 2021.
In October last year, former southwest Sydney geography teacher Monica Young walked free from Dillwynia Correctional Centre – serving two years behind bars – following the rape of a 14-year-old boy who she befriended on Snapchat.
Young pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual intercourse with the student, who she was described as “exploiting” and “manipulating”.
Meanwhile, a “predatory” science teacher from a prestigious Sydney high school escaped jail time after he was caught filming up the skirts of female students.
Cammeraygal High School teacher Eric Wong, 29, was convicted after police uncovered hundreds of videos and images of female students, taken over two years.
VACCINE MANDATES MADE TEACHER DISMISSALS SKYROCKET
The latest teacher conduct data comes as it can be revealed a total of 194 educators were sacked for refusing to comply with Covid vaccination requirements – which resulted in a massive spike in dismissals in 2022 to an all-time high of 281 incidents.
Under the public health orders, NSW teachers were required to be vaccinated against Covid.
NSW Teachers Federation deputy president Amber Flohm said the number of dismissals “wasn’t surprising”.
“Our teachers had no choice but to support to public health order, if they didn’t, they were let go,” she said.
“Given the overall workforce of 90,000 teachers, this is an incredibly small portion of the workforce.
“My understanding is the department wrote to all accredited teachers who weren’t working in the system, offering them the opportunity to return.
“Those members have not come back to us asking us to undertake unfair dismissal or class actions on their behalf.”
The Sunday Telegraph understand teaching staff who left the NSW public school system as a result of the COVID vaccination mandates are now eligible to apply for roles within the education system.
Note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly identified the school Aaron Wormald worked at.
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