No jail time for Peter Bartley who pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three children

The former principal of Trinity Catholic School in Richmond has avoided jail for his disturbing sex crimes against young girls that were often carried out in a classroom full of children.

Former principal of Richmond’s Trinity Catholic School Peter Bartley.

Primary school principal Peter Bartley was reported to police two decades ago for sexually assaulting three little girls but was never charged, allowing him to continue teaching children for another 20 years.

The ex-Trinity Catholic School principal avoided jail on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting three children, all aged under 10, when he was a teacher at Burwood’s St Scholastica’s Catholic Primary School in the late 1990s.

The County Court heard that in a single year, two of the girls made recorded statements to police and a third girl had officers attend her home after she made troubling reports to her parents about Bartley.

All three children told similar stories of repeated offending by their teacher over nine months.

They said that Bartley would call them up to his desk during class to reprimand them, or ask them to stay behind after school, and would draw them close before putting his hand under their school dresses.

The offending occurred when Bartley was a teacher at St Scholastica’s Catholic Primary School in Burwood in the 1990s.

On multiple occasions, the court heard he told his victims to “look into my eyes” as he assaulted them, often in the presence of a classroom of children.

Despite their complaints to police, officers told the Catholic Education Office in the late 90s that no charges would be laid “because of insufficient evidence”.

“No doubt that attitude was a reflection of a different time,” said Judge Patricia Riddell, who handed Bartley a two-year wholly suspended sentence, meaning he won’t serve jail time unless he reoffends in the next three years.

Bartley went on to teach or serve as deputy principal or principal at three other Victorian schools, including Trinity Catholic School in Richmond where he was performing the top job when arrested in June 2020.

Among his responsibilities was student wellbeing, where he set up programs for children affected by trauma and ensured the safety of kids in the schools he taught.

Judge Riddell questioned whether his devotion to preventing the very same abuse of children that he had committed was some sort of “outward manifestation” of remorse.

“Only he really knows the true motivation for that,” Her Honour said.

His arrest came after a former student, who was aware of the assaults, searched Bartley’s name online in January 2020 and discovered that he was still a teacher.

She sent a letter of complaint to the Catholic Education Office outlining her knowledge of the allegations, sparking a renewed police probe.

One of the victims, told by her father of the police’s inquiries, “broke down crying hysterically” as soon as she heard Bartley’s name, telling her dad the teacher had “destroyed her whole life”.

Four months later, he was charged and stood down from his role as principal.

After decades of denials, Bartley finally admitted to his crimes on Tuesday when he entered formal pleas of guilty to three rolled-up charges of indecent act with a child.

But his plea only came after his victims were put through the rigmarole of being cross-examined in court.

One young woman told of the impact of his crimes in a statement handed up to the court, while another victim found it “too hard” to put her thoughts down on paper.

Judge Riddell described Bartley’s offending, in front of a classroom of children, as “brazen”, and said the assaults were “deceptive” in that they occurred under the guise of citing a legitimate reason to talk to his students.

“You breached the trust of these three children, their parents and the school that employed you,” Judge Riddell said, noting she didn’t see any evidence of sympathy for his victims or remorse.

Her Honour credited the victims for their “courage” and paid homage to the strength of their parents, who took their complaints seriously and informed police.

Judge Riddell labelled the girls’ strength in notifying authorities as “the circuit breaker” to Bartley’s offending, as he didn’t assault anyone else after their reports.

Her Honour said that Bartley, who now works in retail at Bunnings and as a painter with plans to complete a law degree, had experienced extra curial punishment “over and above the experience of many people who commit criminal offences”.

He’d lost his career and had suffered a “significant loss” of his reputation because of media reports.

The court heard that news stories about Bartley’s charges by the Herald Sun and Channel 7 in June 2020 had been circulated around his church, where he was no longer welcome, with parishioners told to report any concerns to police.

Days later, his Bank of Melbourne accounts were frozen after he was told “your business was no longer welcome” in a move defence barrister Theo Kassimatis KC described as “truly shocking”.

Despite calls from barrister Penny Thorp, for the prosecution, for Bartley to serve some jail time, Judge Riddell handed him a wholly suspended two year sentence for crimes that carry a maximum 10 years jail.

Her Honour described Bartley’s prospects of rehabilitation as “extremely good” and said he’d sought treatment from a clinical psychologist.

Had he not pleaded guilty, he would have been sentenced to a maximum of 3 years and 8 months jail with a minimum of 18 months.

Bartley will be placed on the sex offender’s register and be subject to reporting conditions for the rest of his life.