Former Caulfield Junior College teacher’s misconduct exposed

The extent of an ex-Caulfield Junior College teacher’s misconduct has been exposed, including describing girls as “nature’s greatest disappointment”.

Primary Schoolteacher Chris Nicholas Adams admitted to 11 instances of professional misconduct Picture: Facebook

Former Caulfield Junior College teacher Chris Adams, who is now blacklisted from working in government schools, told year 4 students depraved stories about a priest urinating on a girl and a boy falling in love with a chicken, disciplinary tribunal documents reveal.

Mr Adams, whose conduct has been the subject of departmental, police and regulatory investigations, earlier this year claimed he was “much more mature” than in 2014 and 2015, when he committed the dozens of acts of misconduct.

Documents published by the Victorian Institute of Teaching this week reveal fresh, damning details about Mr Adams’s conduct, including that he filmed a girl doing cartwheels, played the video to the class, paused it at the moment her top fell over her head and commented on her “nice” bra.

Mr Adams’s psychologist found he was not a sexual psychopath, but “crossed boundaries” because he was overly enthusiastic about teaching.

Primary Schoolteacher Chris Adams admitted to 11 instances of professional misconduct at a Victorian Institute of Teaching disciplinary panel hearing in May. Picture: Facebook

A psychiatrist found Mr Adams did not suffer from any sexual or personality disorders.

Mr Adams, 37, continues to be eligible to teach at private and Catholic schools after a Victorian Institute of Teaching disciplinary panel refused to revoke his registration, instead imposing mentoring and professional development conditions.

The decision infuriated parents and Education Minister Natalie Hutchins, who last month demanded an explanation from the teaching regulator.

The panel’s hearings were shrouded in secrecy, but documents made public on Tuesday reveal the full extent of Mr Adams’ misconduct for the first time.

One of Mr Adams’ students said classroom stories were “awful”, and some parents grew concerned when their kids began regularly writing about topics such as murder, violence and underage marriage.

In one story, distributed to the class, Mr Adams wrote about stuffing a bar of soap down a girl’s throat and spraying deodorant in her face.

Primary Schoolteacher Chris Nicholas Adams had bad judgment, his psychiatrist and psychologist found.

He described girls as “mentally weak” and said they were “nature’s greatest disappointment”.

He said boys were an “unshowered, unclean monstrosity”.

Mr Adams made students give him massages, with one of them saying, “I felt because he was my teacher I kind of had to do it, and, yeah, I felt a bit weird about it”.

In a role-play with one of his “favourite girls” he told a story about two people being on a date and put his arm around her.

He also kissed a girl on the hand in what he said was a moment of “utter stupidity”, and, during another role play, asked another girl out on a date to the movies, leaving her “upset”.

Mr Adams also give students offensive nicknames, such as “stink stink” and “midget”.

Mr Adams told investigators children “enjoyed” his stories, such as the one about the priest urinating on the girl, and that they were “harmless fun”.

The disciplinary panel found Mr Adams “placed himself in a position where he became carried away by his reputation with the students as a fun and engaging teacher … he crossed boundaries which one would expect a teacher to observe.”

The parent of a child who was once taught by Mr Adams, who wished not to be named, said she was grateful he would not be allowed to teach in a Victorian public school again.

But, the parent said she remained “extremely concerned” that he could be employed in independent schools or begin work interstate.

“We’re dealing with children here, they are very young and very impressionable and he’s telling them stories like that (in reference to incest),” she said.

“We’re talking about urination, incest and murder. How are they okay stories to tell in the classroom?

“I do not understand how he did not realise that his actions were wrong. He knew what he was doing.”