'Violent porn teacher' at south-eastern Adelaide school transferred to 'non-teaching' departmental role

EXCLUSIVE: A teacher who accessed violent pornography using a student's internet login will be transferred to a "non-teaching" role within the Education Department.

Education Department chief executive Tony Harrison has taken disciplinary action against the teacher.

A TEACHER who accessed violent pornography using a student's internet login has escaped the sack, but will no longer be allowed to teach.

The computing teacher will be removed from his role at a secondary school in Adelaide's south over his conduct in a previous job almost a decade ago.

The school's former Year 8 co-ordinator and head of information technology will be transferred to a non-teaching role within the Education Department.

The disciplinary action taken by department chief executive Tony Harrison comes after an official investigationinto the incident at a South-East high school in 2004.

The inquiry came after the teacher, who The Advertiser has chosen not to identify, viewed dozens of explicit pornographic websites, some of which featured rape scenes and other degrading images.

The student, now aged 24, was wrongly blamed for the downloads on the South-East school's computers after it was recorded on his internet log.

The student, who did not wish to comment, received $30,000 from the department - an offer made 10 days after officials learned of media knowledge of the issue - and is considering a fresh claim.

The investigation was launched in October when the claims publicly emerged and the teacher was suspended on full pay.

A report into the inquiry, obtained by The Advertiser, states a review of the evidence found that "on the balance of probabilities" the "allegations were found to be substantiated" in 2004.

The latest investigation involved interviewing the unidentified student and his family - but not the teacher - and a review of more than 600 documents from a range of sources.

The IT teacher, aged in his 40s, was investigated and disciplined at the time for accessing the sites using the pupil's school account and told to comply with internet policies.

He breached the department's internet use code again two years later after he was allowed to continue teaching.

Mr Harrison concludes: "In relation to (the teacher), and the requirement to maintain organisational effectiveness in addition to the trust and confidence of parents in the public education system, I have determined that it is my intention to transfer him to a non-teaching position within the department." Another teacher remains under formal investigation.

The teacher is also under investigation by the Teachers Registration Board of South Australia, which could lead to him being struck off, reprimanded or fined.

Police have investigated, but he will not face criminal charges.

The department declined to answer questions about the decision and said in a statement simply that "the chief executive of the Department for Education and Child Development has personally communicated the results of the department's investigation into the matter to the former student".

A spokeswoman for Education Minister Jennifer Rankine declined to comment.

Opposition education spokesman David Pisoni said there would be "no place" in the Education Department for teachers who had committed such offences if the Liberals won this year's state election.

Follow this reporter on Twitter: @andrew_hough