Teacher stood down over pornography case

A South Australian teacher has been stood down over accessing pornography on school computers, with a student initially blamed.

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A teacher has been stood down on full pay for accessing pornography on school computers, including an incident almost 10 years ago that was initially blamed on a student.

South Australian education department chief executive Tony Harrison says, on the "balance of probabilities", the teacher had breached the department's code of conduct in his use of the internet in 2004 and 2006.

He was disciplined and counselled but allowed to keep his job.

A year 10 student at the southeast school was initially accused of accessing hundreds of pornographic websites in the 2004 incident. He was suspended from school but later cleared of any wrongdoing.

The former student approached the government last year to raise the issue and was paid $30,000 as part of a confidential settlement.

The teacher has been stood down pending the outcome of Mr Harrison's complete review of the case which will determine if it was handled appropriately.

He has spoken with the former student, who is also in discussions with police.

"I'm very disappointed as to the activities and actions that have occurred and I'm also deeply understanding and sympathetic towards the student in relation to what he has had to endure over the last nine years," Mr Harrison said on Wednesday.

"It seems that this person, who was young at the time, was subject to some treatment that shouldn't have occurred.

"What the student was subject to in 2004 was completely unacceptable."

Mr Harrison said his investigation would include whether or not it had been appropriate for the teacher to keep his job.

He said the former student had raised concerns over that issue.


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Source: AAP


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