Comments from former St Andrew’s School principal reveal deep problem

Comments from a former principal of murder victim Lilie James’ school workplace have cast a new light on a disturbing problem.

OPINION

Dr John Collier, the former Principal of St Andrew’s Cathedral School, where Lilie James was found bludgeoned to death, has sparked an avalanche of backlash after painting Ms James’ killer as a “role model” and “fine student” who was acting “out of character”.

“[Paul Thijssen] was, in everybody’s estimation, an absolute delight,” wrote Dr Collier in a school newsletter last week.

“I knew him years ago as a fine student, a Prefect, a role model … He was not a monster; rather, in the last five hours of his life he committed a monstrous act,” wrote Dr Collier, opining that “forgiveness literally is from the Divine”.

The letter triggered immediate ire, with readers furious that a man who brutally killed a woman was – once again – receiving the #goodbloke treatment in the wake of her violent death.

But this is not the first time that Dr Collier, now head of North Sydney’s Shore School, has found himself in hot water. And the history here warrants some examination.

Lilie James, 22, was killed at St Andrew’s Cathedral School by colleague and former pupil Paul Thijssen. Picture: Facebook

Shortly before Thijssen began attending St Andrew’s, then headmaster, Dr Collier made headlines for suggesting students show “compassion” to a male staff member who had just been arrested for upskirting them.

In 2013, Robert Emmett, who taught maths at the St Andrew’s Cathedral school, had been caught at Town Hall station filming up a young woman’s dress. On arrest, police also found he had produced two videos on school property, filming up the skirts of three 14-year-old St Andrew’s students.

Emmett was arrested but in a letter to parents about the charges, Dr Collier wrote:

“Whatever students feel about the teacher’s behaviour, which is reprehensible, they have been asked to show compassion for the emotional devastation [Emmett] will no doubt feel, and, out of consideration for his wife and children, to be measured in their remarks.”

“There is no evidence,” Dr Collier added for reassurance, “that these attentions were given to women on staff” and it is “not helpful to misrepresent or magnify [the alleged crimes]”.

Dr John Collier, former Principal of St Andrew’s School in Sydney. Picture: James Croucher

Dr Collier also told media that he believed the upskirting was a “one off” of “largely unsuccessful attempts” at filming the Year 9 girls, in which only their “legs” were captured.

But when the matter went to court in 2015 (the same year Thijssen commenced as a student at St Andrew’s) the true extent of Emmett’s criminality was revealed.

In addition to filming the students’ underwear and “private parts” – not just their ‘legs’- Emmett’s computer was found to contain 9517 child abuse images and 362 videos featuring bestiality, cruelty and other child sexual abuse.

He was convicted of possession of child abuse material and three counts of filming a person’s private parts in connection with the three Year 9 students.

One might have assumed he would serve jail time.

But at sentencing, Emmett – who is the son of a NSW Court of Appeal judge, and a Federal Circuit Court judge – would be spared incarceration, and instead was allowed to serve his sentence in the community.

Robert Emmett taught maths at the St Andrew’s Cathedral School.

His victims hadn’t even finished high school. (Thijssen was in the year below them).

Such is the value we place on female safety when a privileged and well connected man is involved, I suppose.

Now fast forward to 2019, and once again Dr Collier was in the headlines – this time for an assembly which had gone horribly wrong.

By now Thijssen was working as an assistant in the sports department, having recently graduated.

On a Wednesday in November, the Year 12 female students were separated from the boys and held back following a grade meeting.

At the time, the school had recently been plagued by a series of sexual offence allegations, and one male student (who cannot be named for legal reasons) had been convicted of sexually assaulting three girls. (He too avoided a custodial sentence, after being supplied with a glowing character reference from a St Andrew’s staff member to use at sentencing).

But this assembly wasn’t about that, and the girls were not about to receive a presentation on consent, their rights, or the now global #MeToo movement.

Instead the girls were given a stern lecture about the length of their skirts and, kneeling in a line on the floor, were handed hem-unpickers to lengthen their uniforms which didn’t reach the ground.

Paul Thijssen, sports Assistant at St Andrew's Cathedral School, was found dead after killing Lilie James. Picture: Linkedin

Unsurprisingly the girls were furious and the media was alerted. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Dr Collier confirmed that staff had provided the girls the “tools” to unpick their hems, and – following the student outcry- he said the school had now “apologised to the girls if they felt, in some sense, not respected in the process”.

But in interview, Dr Collier then went on to justify the uniform check, saying “in my experience, good uniform actually helps students engage well with the school … We didn’t want parents to want to be judging them harshly for not keeping to the uniform rules.”

Now imagine the lesson those Year 12 girls would have taken from all this.

After all, those same girls had been in Year 8 when Emmett – the upskirter- had been convicted, and his crimes were very much in recent institutional memory.

But a mere four years later, the school was already back to ‘victim-blaming’ by treating the girls and their skirts as the problem in need of correction.

And I wonder what lessons – if any - Thijssen and the other male students and staff absorbed during that series of events? (Thijssen was in Year 10 when Emmett avoided jail, and was on staff when the uniform check happened).

I wonder too, what Thijssen might have thought when – the following year in 2020- a boy from his own St Andrew’s year group (who had graduated alongside him) was convicted of choking a girl who rejected him?

Matthew Emannuel Goldman – who had played cricket with Thijssen – was charged with four counts of sexual assault and one count of assault causing actual bodily harm after he allegedly attacked a teenage girl, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

Matthew Emannuel Goldman was charged with four counts of sexual assault. Picture: Facebook

At court, it was alleged that Goldman had threatened to kill himself when the school girl attempted to sever all contact with him, also sending her a photo of his feet dangling off a cliff.

Seeing a theme here?

Goldman was eventually found guilty of assault causing actual bodily harm for choking the girl but acquitted of the sexual offences.

And just like Emmett, Goldman also wouldn’t receive a jail sentence.

Speaking to news.com.au, Goldman’s survivor, Lucy* says that she was extremely distressed to learn that before the trial, a school staff member had provided Goldman with a positive character reference, adding that she believes the institution prioritises “damage control and brand protection” over the safety of female students.

“Male entitlement, privilege and violence is entrenched in the systems of St Andrew’s Cathedral School … It’s not just Thijssen. This is a school wide issue. The school has a culture rot,” she says.

And perhaps it’s time we connected the dots here.

Because what happened to Lucy* and what happened to Lilie James didn’t happen in a vacuum.

These events didn’t happen devoid of context.

Lilie’s brutal death happened in a bathroom of an institution known for its privilege, power and continuous hosing down of allegations - many of which seem to involve the exploitation and abuse of girls and women.

Ms James’ death has sent shockwaves through the school community. Picture: Facebook

She was just 22 years old. Picture: Facebook

Lilie’s death also involved a man – who many perceived as arrogant and controlling – who was not just a poster boy of that school, but a literal product of it. Someone they awarded a leadership position and even invited back to teach.

In recent weeks few media outlets have been willing to examine what that might mean in terms of institutional responsibility.

The public, too, is often scared to ask pointed questions of a community, which we all understand is grieving.

To do so can be seen as crass and insensitive.

But it would be both lazy and cowardly not to consider whether the school culture – an elite bastion of male privilege – was in any way a contributing factor here.

And the danger is that if we don’t address the issue – or at least ask the question – the school will return to ‘business as usual’ and no lessons will be learned.

In the wake of Lilie’s murder, St Andrew’s School Principal McGonigle sent a letter to parents expressing her concern for the families involved, before stating she would not let the tragedy “define” the community.

“Thank you sincerely for the love and support you are generously giving at this time – as I will share with staff today – the horrors of evil, do not and will not define our community, that is my oath,” McGonigle wrote.

“Thank you for partnering with me in that commitment.”

Historically, of course, our society has provided privileged violent men with an almost endless array of excuses – almost all of which are designed to shift personal and institutional responsibility.

Rather than seeking to understand why the violence has happened, and what cultural factors may have contributed to it, we often rush in with excuses and deflections. Or we label the person a “psychopathic monster” who defies all possible comprehension.

But none of this is helpful as it merely conceals critical red flags while obscuring understanding.

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Flowers left in honour of Ms James outside the St Andrew’s School. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

Over recent days I’ve read all manner of articles hypothesising everything from “pandemic loneliness” to “pornography” as a contributing factor to Thijssen’s violence. (That last suggestion was made by Dr Collier himself, in his letter to parents).

Horrifyingly,The Daily Mail also published an article insinuating Lilie, too, could have borne some culpability for “going out with someone she shouldn’t have been.” (That article has since been removed).

But what is missing here, is a discussion of how male violence is enabled and embedded in privilege and power.

And we need to talk about the links between male ego, institutions that breed entitlement, and acts of violence against women.

So too, we should talk about how possessive and proprietary attitudes towards women can be rooted in the privilege and power fostered in elite environments.

Because this was not a “good bloke”. This was a person who successfully manifested the outward appearance of being a “good bloke” for those around him, all while terrorising someone who should have been able to trust him.

Nor was this a person ‘who simply snapped’. And evidence suggests he went to considerable lengths to plan and execute his attack, including buying a hammer, borrowing a car, and carrying out the attack in one of the only rooms in the school without CCTV.

Evidence suggests Thijssen’s attack was pre-planned.

Far from being a random and entirely unpredictable crime, we know it had many of the hallmarks of gender violence: Thijssen was known to be arrogant, possessive, and wouldn’t take no for an answer – all significant warning signs.

He’d also been recently rejected. Domestic violence experts repeatedly tell us that the most dangerous window in a toxic relationship is in the two weeks immediately after a woman breaks-up with a narcissistic, entitled or controlling partner. We know this.

We also know that these violent men are not born in the dark. They are made in daylight, and produced in situ. They have context which can and should be scrutinised.

When we pretend otherwise, it’s only so we don’t have to look at ourselves.

*names have been changed

Nina Funnell is Walkley Award winning journalist and the creator of the #LetHerSpeak campaign and #JusticeShouldntHurt campaign. She has previously served on the NSW Premier’s Council on Preventing Violence Against Women, the board of the NSW Rape Crisis Centre and the board of the National Children’s and Youth Law Centre.