A former teacher at prestigious Sydney private school Newington College faces nine sex offence charges after police allegedly identified the teacher as having sexually assaulted and groomed a student.
Deandra Kontou, 32, was arrested in Sutherland after police resumed an investigation into allegations involving a teacher and a student at a school in Sydney’s Inner West.
Kontou taught at Newington College in 2017 and reportedly left the school in 2019.
The charges include aggravated sexual assault of a person under the authority of the alleged offender, three counts of aggravated sexual touching and using a carriage service to groom a person under 16 for sex with another person.
Under NSW law, aggravated sexual assault is an offence equivalent to rape.
Newington College responds
A Newington College spokesperson told The Sydney Morning Herald that the school does not tolerate conduct by teachers that conflicts with its professional standards or the law.
“As this matter is before the courts, we are not able to provide any further comment at this time,” the spokesperson said.
The allegations against Kontou have not been proven in court.
Court imposes strict bail conditions
Kontou appeared before Sutherland Local Court last Wednesday, where the court granted her conditional bail.
According to court documents seen by nine.com.au, she must surrender her passport and report to Sutherland Police Station once a day.
She must also stay away from school grounds and cannot undertake teaching activities that involve contact with children.
The bail conditions also prohibit her from being in the company of a child unless a parent, guardian or responsible adult is present.
Kontou will appear before Burwood Local Court on November 26.
Second Newington-linked teacher charged
Kontou is the second teacher connected to Newington College to face recent sex offence allegations.
In May, Benjamin David Collinge, who worked as a part-time music teacher at the school, faced a charge over the alleged online grooming of a 14-year-old female student.
The case against Kontou remains before the courts.
(Source: The Sydney Morning Herald)