Former RMIT tutor Michael Montalto allowed to work as counsellor
An ethics lecturer sacked by RMIT after exposing himself to a student and threatening to fail another if she didn’t have sex with him is allowed to work as a counsellor while completing a PhD in pursuit of an “academic career”.
Leader
Don't miss out on the headlines from Leader . Followed categories will be added to My News.
A “predatory” university ethics lecturer who threatened to fail a young female student if she did not have sex with him is allowed to keep working as a counsellor.
Tutor Michael Montalto was sacked by RMIT last October after it was revealed he made unwanted sexual advances towards several students between June and August, 2014.
The young women, all aged between 18 and 19, were students at a second university Montalto taught at, but which cannot be named for legal reasons.
Last October, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal found Montalto “exploited a power imbalance by engaging and/or attempting to engage (including by the use of coercion) in a sexual and/or personal and/or social relationship with a person who was his student”.
Montalto – who wants an “academic career” – was last December disqualified from becoming a registered psychologist for two years.
However, he is able to practice as a counsellor while he continues his PhD studies.
The Psychology Board of Australia also wanted Montalto barred from providing counselling or “therapy-type services” but this application was denied by VCAT senior member Robert Davis.
“If in fact the respondent were to practise as a counsellor and his conduct were found to be inappropriate and a complaint was made … it would be up to the (health complaints) commissioner to take action,” Mr Davis said in remarks published just last week.
Much of Montalto’s depravity was committed against a student over several months.
Montalto, 24 at the time, invited the student back to his RMIT office, offered her wine, placed his hand on her thigh, kissed her and asked her to remove her top.
He told her he wanted to have sex with her on his colleague’s desk.
Montalto later told the girl he would fail her or give her a lesser mark if she did not have sex with him or engage in sexual communication.
At an end-of-trimester drinks, Montalto asked the girl to have sex with him and his girlfriend at a city apartment.
He also asked several other students at the drinks “very personal and intimate questions”.
He bought the students alcohol, kissed a student on her mouth.
He also groped a student’s breasts, attempted to undo and put his hands in her pants and exposed himself to her.
Montalto denied the allegations, instead he claimed students at the university were known to circulate “inappropriate memes, messages and prank material”.
He also claimed to have “no memory” of the incidents.
An RMIT spokesperson confirmed the university sacked Montalto after his conduct was made public.
MORE NEWS
METRO TRAINS EMPLOYEE'S SICK CHILD PORN OFFENCES
VICTIM "LUCKY TO SURVIVE" SAVAGE SHOPPING CENTRE BEATING