Teacher who indecently recorded students at Catholic high school while still drunk from night before jailed

A Catholic college teacher in Perth’s northeast who took indecent photos of female students and was turning up to school still drunk has been jailed for one year. The 42-year-old, who was downing a bottle of vodka each night, had only just started working at the high school in March last year when he took images of girls in his class focused on their buttocks, breasts and thighs. Other students noticed him using the live mode of his school-issued iPad, which allowed him to take short videos and a photo of the girls. Students told school employees who seized the device and informed police. The short video clips began pointed at the floor, moved up, then moved back down again. When police interviewed him in April 2023, he refused to participate. Defence counsel Lindsay Allan-McConchie submitted that her client’s drinking had intensified after a relationship break-up and psychologist Janis Fairbairn had concluded that he was probably still affected by alcohol when he committed the crimes. District Court of WA Judge Wendy Hughes was staggered. “Brand new teacher in a school, start of semester one, turning up drunk,” Judge Hughes remarked. The teacher denied any sexual interest in children, which was consistent with Dr Fairbairn’s opinion, Ms Allan-McConchie told the court. Police had found a large amount of pornography at his property and it all involved adult woman, the lawyer added. She said his motivation to enter teaching and educate young people about STEM was very earnest. “He never thought he would become that creepy, weird teacher that children talk about,” Ms Allan-McConchie said. Judge Hughes said the fact the children had spoken up — demonstrating protective behaviours and a knowledge of their rights — was a positive of the case. “Thank goodness they called it out,” she said on Thursday. The court was told the victims were unawares they had been photographed and were left feeling paranoid when they found out later. “My mind still plays tricks on me thinking I’m being watched and followed when I’m not,” one of the teens wrote. Judge Hughes said the fact the former forensic accountant had used his work iPad was an element of deceit as his offending would have been spotted sooner if he had used his own mobile phone. She accepted he had lost his job, but there was no good explanation put forward for his “incomprehensible” crimes. And as someone deemed to be of “superior intelligence”, he could not claim ignorance. “There is no doubt that this offending is serious,” Judge Hughes said. “It is a gross breach of trust. You must have known it was your duty to protect students from sexual abuse.” Judge Hughes made the man eligible for parole.