Teacher accused of assaulting students like ‘Miss Trunchbull’

A teacher accused of pinching, pushing and spitting on children at a school in Sydney’s south west was a secret “Miss Trunchbull” like in the movie Matilda, a former student has claimed in court.

A teacher accused of pinching, pushing and spitting on students was a secret “Miss Trunchbull” like in the movie Matilda, a former student has claimed in court.

The 57-year-old teacher has pleaded not guilty to six counts of common assault against four students in the composite 3/4 class she began teaching for term two at end of April last year in south west Sydney. Neither the teacher nor the school can be identified for legal reasons.

It is alleged she spat on, pushed and pinched the students.

The teacher has pleaded not guilty to six counts of common assault. Picture: John Grainger

MORE NEWS

Sacked AMP contractor stole customers’ details

Music festival cancelled as organisers lash out

Four charged over McDonald’s brawl

On Thursday the fourth child that was allegedly assaulted told a Liverpool Local Court hearing that the teacher was like Miss Trunchbull, the mean fictional headmistress from the movie Matilda. In the movie she throws children and uses a crop to scare kids as punishment.

“How do you feel when you see (the teacher) in the classroom?” a specialist police officer asks in a prerecorded interview played in court.

“I feel like … have you watched Matilda? The teacher in it, she’s very very bad,” the nine-year-old boy says.

I feel every time I see her I feel like that she … (is) like Miss Trunchbull.”

The boy alleges that the teacher held him up against the wall and used her hand to push him up against the wall “very hard”.

He also said she whispered “F**k off” in his ear.

The boy said it was a “secret” what happened in the classroom and no other adults were around.

One boy has alleged the teacher held him up against the wall. Picture: John Grainger

During cross-examination the woman’s lawyer Ian Fraser asked the boy whether he had called out to the teacher on one occasion “You’re not Arabic”.

“Yeah,” the boy answered.

When asked why he did it he answered: “Because she wasn’t Arabic.. I said you’re not Arabic.”

The boy told the court that students were asking her if she was Lebanese and she told them she was not.

An alleged victim arrives at court. Picture: John Grainger

“Then she said she can speak Arabic and I said no you can’t you’re not Arabic,” the boy said.

Mr Fraser asked the boy whether he could remember another student once telling the teacher “you’re no good you’re not Muslim” and that she looked like Donald Trump.

He answered “yeah” to both questions.

Another student had previously denied in court saying those things to the teacher.

Mr Fraser put to the boy that the only time the teacher grabbed his shirt was when she was trying to break up a fight between him and another student.

“She does it sometimes in class,” the boy said.

The hearing before Magistrate Daniel Covington continues.

Originally published as Teacher accused of assaulting students like ‘Miss Trunchbull’