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A FEMALE integration aide at a Victorian school who is charged with sex offences against a 15-year-old boy is on suicide watch, a court heard yesterday. The woman, 36, who cannot be identified, worked at a government secondary school on the Mornington Peninsula. Police charged her with 22 sex offences last Wednesday after she was alleged to have had vaginal and oral intercourse with the boy between February and September. The boy suffers from learning difficulties but is not intellectually disabled. Some of the alleged offences are believed to have occurred at the boy's home and others at locations in Melbourne's southern suburbs. Chief Magistrate lan Gray rejected an application by The Age in the Melbourne Magistrates Court yesterday to lift an order prohibiting the publication of the woman's identity and said it was a case with "exceptional circumstances". The woman hid her face behind a white envelope and sobbed throughout the hearing. She appeared drained and pale and was supported by a female friend. Mr Gray released the woman on bail and ordered her to appear again in February. The woman's lawyer, Sharon Smith, said police had referred her client to crisis assessment and treatment services, which had been visiting her daily to monitor her mental health. "There is a real and escalating risk of self-harm," Ms Smith. She said publicity surrounding the case was affecting the woman's mental state. Ms Smith said a psychologist's report had stated that the woman could become suicidal if her identity was revealed. The teenager is believed to have confessed the details to his parents recently. The school was notified last week and the aide was removed from the school. AAP (7-12-2004) Stephen Moynihan |
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A FEMALE teacher aide faces 22 criminal charges that she had repeated sex with a male student. The 36-year-old, believed to be on staff at a school on the Mornington Peninsula, has been charged with 22 counts of taking part in sexual penetration of a child under 16 between February and September. The aide, from Dromana, is due to face Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Monday. Police charged the woman and released her on bail on Wednesday after the student's parents apparently alerted authorities. She has been suspended. Her alleged victim is 15. Australian Education Union state president Mary Bluett said teacher aides were checked by police. Just as teachers were. "Anyone working with children has to undergo police checks," she said. She said the woman had no criminal record. Inappropriate relationships between teachers and students were incredibly rare, she said. Ms Bluett said the teaching profession had been rocked by the recent teacher- sex cases of Gavin Hopper and Karen Ellis. Hopper has applied for leave to appeal against his convictions for indecent assault and gross indecency against a schoolgirl while a teacher at Wesley College in the 1980s. He was jailed for at least two years in August. Ellis walked free from court last month with a suspended 22-month jail term after pleading guilty to having sex with a 15-year- old male student. Ms Bluett said teacher selection was a rigorous process. "They have to apply for these positions, they have to have referees, they have police checks — what more can be done?" she said. "As a teacher and a parent you think. Is there more that can be done? But I think in Victoria we have, compared internationally, an incredibly stringent process for assessing suitability to be working with children. "We do take our very unique position of trust in working with children very seriously, and we all feel devastated when that very special trust is breached. "While this will get a lot of media coverage, it is very, very rare, and I think most people understand that." AAP (4-12-2004) Paul Anderson/ Holly Ife |
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A FEMALE integration aide at a Victorian school has been charged with sexual offences against a boy in her care aged under 16. The woman, 36, an integration aide at a government secondary school on the Mornington Peninsula, worked with the boy, who suffers from language difficulties, three days a week. The student is not intellectually disabled. Most of the offences are believed to have happened at the boy's home. The woman is believed to have lived with the student and his family for some time this year while going I through a traumatic separation. The alleged sexual affair took place over eight months. The teenager is believed to have recently confessed the details to his parents. The school was notified on Monday and the aide, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was immediately removed from the school. She was charged on Wednesday. The aide is a mother and several of her children attend the same school. The woman has been charged with 22 sex-related offences, including sexual penetration of a child aged under 16, allegedly committed between February and September this year. The Age believes the woman passed a routine police check a year ago. She does not have a criminal record. An Education Department spokesman said it was inappropriate to comment on the details of the case as it was now a police matter. He said the school had followed all correct procedures. "The school principal has fired her and she will not be in a Victorian classroom again," the spokesman said. The woman, who was bailed after being charged, will appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Monday. AAP (4-12-2004) Selma Milovanovic |
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