Gavin Morris, former Yipirinya School principal, appealing guilty verdict as sentencing adjourned
The former principal, found guilty of choking and pulling kids by their ears in October, is appealing the judge’s verdict, a court has heard, with his sentencing adjourned. Read the latest.
A former principal is appealing a finding he assaulted kids while leading an Alice Springs school, a court has heard, with his sentencing delayed.
Ex-Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris, 47, was due to be sentenced by Judge Anthony Hopkins in the Alice Springs Local Court on Monday, but it was deferred after lengthy submissions.
In October, Judge Hopkins found Morris guilty of four counts of assault, made aggravated by the fact his victims were children, and he was an adult.
Morris is appealing this finding, his lawyer John Wilson told the court on Monday.
Morris was found not guilty on the fifth count.
On Monday, Mr Wilson submitted his client should serve a wholly suspended sentence, or a home detention period if the suspended sentence was not granted.
Morris’s “good character” and a “wide support network,” who would “assist his rehabilitation,” would provide Judge Hopkins with a surety Morris would not reoffend, Mr Wilson said.
Mr Wilson said his submissions would not try to downplay Morris’s offending – which he was convicted of – telling the court it was borne from a “loss of control in a stressful situation”.
He submitted Morris would benefit from rehabilitation, calling his offending an “aberration which is unlikely to ever be repeated again”.
“Morris, it would seem, would never be able to teach again,” Mr Wilson said when addressing his future employment prospects.
Mr Wilson also said the media attention the matter received also caused stress, while Morris’s childhood – marked by violence and alcohol abuse, according to Mr Wilson – meant Morris was eligible for the Bugmy principle.
The principle, which stems from a 2013 Australian High Court case, is a legal principle in which a background of severe disadvantage must be given full weight by the judge as the defendant’s background can affect their moral culpability, the landmark ruling determined.
Prosecutor James Moore, addressing the Bugmy submission, said “this is far from a case where there’s an appropriate reduction in the moral culpability”.
He further submitted a suspended sentence would be “inadequate” given the nature of the offending and sought an accumulation of the sentences imposed.
“Each offence involved actual violence as opposed to the threat of violence, “ Mr Moore said, further calling the offending “gratuitous” and said it contained “distinct criminality”.
“Morris abused his position of trust, power … and he did so over a period of time.
“We don’t accept this was an aberration.”
He further submitted no evidence had been tendered which showed Morris’s remorse.
“The absence of remorse, the absence of insight, the apparent failure to accept responsibility … these are all matters that would give the court concern,” he said.
In the morning, the courtroom gallery was full for the sentencing, while Morris, a father of four, sat in the last row of the bar table in courtroom one.
He kept his gaze fixed on Judge Hopkins throughout submissions, and when it was adjourned, Judge Hopkins’ enlarged Morris’s bail – allowing him to leave the court.
After court was adjourned, Morris stayed standing in court, staring ahead where Judge Hopkins had sat.
Morris, who once sat on the Alice Springs Town Council, was arrested and charged in August 2024.
The court heard he previously worked as an NRL referee in Sydney prior to making a move to Daly River after he completed his masters in education at the University of Sydney.
He pleaded not guilty at his first court appearance, and again when a 10-day judge-only hearing took place in the Alice Springs Local Court.
The hearing was presided over by Judge Hopkins, who on October 15, found Morris guilty on the four counts of assault.
Morris is appealing this decision.
He was found not guilty on the fifth count, but the counts he was found guilty on included choking children and dragging others by the ears.
Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years behind bars.
The children Morris was found to have dragged by the ears were aged eight and nine, while those he was found to have choked were aged 12 and 13.
Judge Hopkins also determined Morris made racist remarks at the children.
At the time of the offending in 2023, Morris was principal of Yipirinya School – a school for Indigenous children in Alice Springs.
The court was closed for much of Morris’s hearing as children gave evidence.
Non-publication orders placed on the matter by Judge Hopkins prevent the youths from being identified.
Their evidence was enough to sway Judge Hopkins beyond a reasonable doubt of Morris’s guilt, he said when delivering his verdict in October, calling those who gave evidence credible and reliable, and who gave “relatively detailed” accounts of a “traumatic incident”.
Morris did not give evidence during the hearing.
A number of character references were submitted on behalf of Morris on Monday, with Association of Independent Schools NT chief executive Cheryl Salter supplying one.
Former Central Land Council chair Matthew Palmer, who was present in court on Monday, also provided a reference.
Morris no longer sits on the Alice Springs Town Council, and is also no longer employed at Yipirinya.
After being found guilty in October, Morris’s bail was continued.
It is understood he is residing in Queensland.
Morris gave no comment when entering the court, nor when leaving.
The sentencing is set to occur on Thursday, December 11.
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Originally published as Gavin Morris, former Yipirinya School principal, appealing guilty verdict as sentencing adjourned
