Launceston primary school teacher allegedly groomed and abused boys in 70s and 80s

About five plaintiffs say a teacher abused them when they were young boys, grooming them by buying them ice creams, giving them money to buy treats or sitting them on his lap.

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A FORMER Launceston primary school teacher has been identified as an alleged perpetrator of child sexual abuse between the late 1970s and early 1980s.

About five plaintiffs say the man abused them when they were young boys in Grades 5 and 6, grooming them by buying them ice creams, giving them money to buy treats or sitting them on his lap.

According to Melbourne-based lawyer Zoe Papageorgiou, who is currently preparing civil action on behalf of the alleged victims against the Tasmanian state government, the man was a Department of Education employee.

She said the man would work his way into the boys’ lives before abusing them, and that it wasn’t clear whether Tasmania Police had ever been notified.

“(These cases allegedly involved) typical grooming patterns where trust is gained from this friendship, or faux friendship situations, where he ingratiates himself into the child’s life, and from there, that is exploited into contact abuse,” she said.

“Certainly parents did complain to the school principal at the time, but whether it was escalated beyond that, I can’t confirm.”

Ms Papageorgiou said the state government hadn’t yet been served with the claims, but that it was aware of the case.

She said she was still building a case with her clients, and was keen for anyone with information to come forward.

“Pursuing an individual is really important but there are other ways to achieve a sense of justice, and I think one of those ways is pursuing the system that was sheltering these people and giving them a job,” Ms Papageorgiou said.

“Because there have been four or five (alleged victims), we can perhaps assume there have been more. We hope there’s not, but there’s no way to confirm precisely how many survivors.”

The Maurice Blackburn lawyer is also preparing a civil claim for a man who alleges he was abused by a former Hobart teacher, who was also said to have links to the state’s theatre scene.

That claim will also be lodged with the Tasmanian state government, which employed the teacher during the 1990s.

A Tasmania Police spokesperson said historical allegations such as this were matters for the upcoming Commission of Inquiry into the Tasmanian Government’s response to child sexual abuse in institutional settings.

“Tasmania Police cannot comment on matters within the remit of the inquiry,” they said.

A government spokesman said allegations of child abuse were taken seriously, “which is why we established the Commission of Inquiry”.

“This will allow any historical offences to come to light and ensure justice is served,” they said.

“Of course, we encourage anyone who has any information about child sexual abuse to go to the Police so it can be investigated immediately.”

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