Newington College teacher charged with grooming and assaulting student
Deandra Kontou charged with nine offences against student under 16 in 2017.
Deandra Kontou, a former geography teacher at Newington College in Sydney, has been charged with nine child abuse offences. The alleged offences span six months in 2017 and include showing indecent material, messaging, and coercing a student under 16 into sexual acts.
Incidents allegedly occurred in the school's Stanmore building during school hours. Kontou was also accused of touching the student twice during a senior boys' trip to Fitzroy Island and then sexually assaulting him.
The teacher left the elite school, which costs more than $33,000 per year, in 2019 after allegations were reported. She was later hired at public school Georges River College in 2024 before her arrest last month.
She is banned from teaching and has lost her accreditation.
Why it mattersA teacher hired at a second school despite prior allegations highlights gaps in employment vetting and child protection.
AustraliaNSW schools are reviewing teacher screening after a Newington teacher was hired elsewhere while under investigation.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 4 h ago
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