Teacher stood down on porn rap

A TEACHER has been suspended nine years after he viewed pornographic websites using the internet account of a Year 10 student.

A TEACHER has been suspended nine years after he viewed pornographic websites using the internet account of a Year 10 student, who was later paid $30,000 in hush money by South Australia's Education Department.

The former student, falsely accused of accessing websites that included "rape" images, broke his silence yesterday to describe how he was belittled and called a liar about the internet use, and felt he had to drop out of school.

He spoke out after The Australian revealed the case and Premier Jay Weatherill, a former education minister, waived a confidentiality agreement the man had been told to sign by the department last year.

The teacher, who The Australian revealed was working at a different school as a Year 8 co-ordinator, was suspended yesterday on full pay.

The Premier said he found out about the matter only on Tuesday following inquiries by The Australian. He later said his office had been told a fortnight ago but no one had informed him.

This mirrors a separate school sex-abuse case in 2010 that led to a royal commission and an ongoing parliamentary inquiry, when the Premier's advisers failed to inform him of the incident.

Education Minister Jennifer Rankine said she had asked department chief executive Tony Harrison to investigate the school porn case when she was informed on September 30.

Aspects of the matter have now been reported to police.

Mr Harrison said yesterday he had launched an investigation into the department's "disappointing" handling of the 2004 matter and the confidential settlement reached with the former student in February last year. He said the teacher had been found to have breached department guidelines on internet use in 2004 and 2006, but escaped suspension and was instead counselled.

"As of today, I have directed that the teacher involved be stood down from their duties," he said.

"I think that's very appropriate under all of the circumstances to ensure that I have an opportunity to fully and comprehensively understand all aspects of decisions taken by this department over the last nine years."

The former student said he had had only one meeting with a department official and regretted accepting the payment.

"No one has listened to my side -- it was 'Let's just shut him up with $30,000'," he said. "I regret accepting that settlement. I regret the fact this guy got away with that, and that's all I was worth."

He had originally sought an apology from the deputy principal of the Naracoorte High School, in the state's southeast, and for action to be taken against the teacher. Instead, the then head of the department's legal services unit, Don Mackie, offered him $10,000 and refused the young man's requests for a loosening of confidentiality clauses last year.

When contacted by an apologetic Mr Weatherill yesterday, the former student told him he had been told by Mr Mackie that he had no recourse to natural justice.

Mr Weatherill, education minister when the former student began seeking information about the investigation into the teacher in 2011, told parliament the man was entitled to feel angry and upset. "He is obviously very distressed about the circumstances . . . he has been subjected to over an extended period of time. I think he is entitled to feel that way."