Photo via The Sydney Morning Herald

Principal addresses parents after former Newington teacher charged with rape

Read the original at The Sydney Morning Herald ↗
Cite

Surdo, D. L. (2026, September 30). Principal addresses parents after former Newington teacher charged with rape. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/principal-addresses-parents-after-former-newington-teacher-charged-with-rape-20260930-p611tz.html?ref=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_feed

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Sydney Morning Herald · collected 2026-09-30 · by Daniel Lo Surdo

Quick Summary

Principal Anna Girginis of Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus wrote to parents addressing recent charges against former teacher Deandra Kontou for child sex offenses involving a Newington student. Kontou had been employed at Georges River College since her dismissal from Newington College in November 2019, while police investigated the alleged rape. Principal Girginis urged students and families concerned about the matter to seek counseling or contact professional hotlines for support. The article does not specify whether the school was aware of Kontou’s ongoing investigation during her employment there.
Written by AI on 2026-09-30, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Anna Girginis, principal of Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus in southern Sydney, addressed parents on Wednesday following the recent charges against former teacher Deandra Kontou. Kontou was charged with nine child sex offences involving a student from Newington, including grooming and sexual assault, after her abrupt dismissal from the prestigious school in 2019 due to alleged abuse. Despite ongoing investigations, Kontou continued teaching at Georges River College until she left two years later; however, police confirmed she is not accused of criminal activity during this period. The 32-year-old remains on payroll but has been placed on "alternative duties" as per her bail conditions, which ban direct contact with children under 16. Girginis encouraged students to seek counseling and professional support in light of the ongoing legal proceedings against Kontou, who appeared before Sutherland Local Court last week where she was granted bail.

Written for “Teacher Charges Rape Investigation” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Teacher Charges Rape Investigation
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A discusses a broader investigation into sexual abuse by teachers in New York, while Article B focuses on a specific incident involving a former teacher charged with rape at a school in Sydney.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 61/100
“The articles describe different aspects of the incident; one focuses on the principal's address to parents after charges were filed, while the other explains how the alleged abuse was exposed and the teacher resigned.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss Deandra Kontou's charges, Article A describes her arrest and initial charges, while Article B covers the principal addressing parents after the charges were made, indicating a different specific event or phase in the incident.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 22 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles refer to Deandra Kontou and her arrest for alleged child abuse, Article A focuses on her continued payment by the Department of Education while on bail, whereas Article B discusses the principal's address to parents about counseling services after she was charged.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 3 of 25 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Deandra Kontou and the charges against her, they describe different aspects of the ongoing situation involving her teaching at multiple schools.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 4 of 27 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Deandra Kontou being charged with child abuse offenses at Newington College, Article B focuses on the principal addressing parents after her arrest and encouragement for students to seek counseling, which is a different event or development.”
Daily Mail
Hedges 7 of 40 claims Outlet record 68/100
“While both articles discuss Deandra Kontou's charges related to alleged rape of a student at Newington College, Article A focuses on the principal addressing parents and encouraging students for support after the teacher was charged, while Article B provides details about court documents revealing an interstate trip and allegations preceding the incident. These are different aspects of the same case but not the same specific event.”
The Sydney Morning Herald
Hedges 5 of 28 claims Outlet record 61/100
“While both articles discuss the same teacher charged with rape at Newington College, they describe different aspects of the case and do not specify the same exact incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
61/100
The Sydney Morning Herald's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-30 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Sydney Morning Herald · 5607 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Daniel Lo Surdo
31 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Officials have warned the death toll could rise, as rescue workers scour the crash site.
🔮 He will remain behind bars until at least November 4, when he will next appear in court.
🔮 Ben Roberts-Smith launched a multimedia blitz on Thursday to go with his new clothing label, denying five charges of the war crime of murder ahead of his criminal trial and insisting he would not change a thing from his military career.
🔮 Tom Malone, chief executive of Tapt Media, which owns 2GB and 3AW, said the interview will showcase the company’s digital transformation in its new era owned by pokies and publican billionaire family, the Laundys.
🔮 The manhunt began after 10.20am on Friday when the man was allegedly confronted over a stolen van taken from a nearby inner west suburb days earlier. He allegedly set fire to the van, near an apartment complex at Williams Parade and Constitution Road in Dulwich Hill, and waved the shotgun at three witnesses, before fleeing on foot with the weapon. Nearby businesses, cafes and schools were put into lockdown on Friday as tactical police, along with the police helicopter, combed nearby streets for the alleged gunman.
🔮 Officers have established the operation near Williams Parade and Constitution Road, urging public to avoid the area as they sweep the scene.
2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Gun shots in Dulwich Hill, police lock down area
🔮 A post-mortem examination will be held to determine the child’s cause of death.
🔮 The investigation of the botched assassination attempt was handed to detectives under Taskforce Falcon, the NSW Police initiative launched in May 2025 to confront escalating gangland violence across Sydney.
🔮 “I could just smell petrol all over, my hairs singed, my eyebrows, got smoke in my eyes, just everything, just been pumping me with water.
🔮 Police announced the establishment of Strike Force Mexvo on Wednesday morning, which will bring together specialist detectives with officers from the Sex Crimes Squad to investigate whether the incidents are linked.
Also by Daniel Lo Surdo
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 31 articles by Daniel Lo Surdo →

Topics

Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus Newington Oatley Sutherland Local Court Sydney

Subjects

Kontou PERSON · 11× Newington GPE · 4× Girginis PERSON · 3× Sydney GPE · 3× Oatley PERSON · 2× Stanmore GPE · 2× Sutherland Local Court ORG · 2× Deandra Kontou PERSON · 1× Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus ORG · 1× the Education Department ORG · 1×

Narrative

One parent, whose daughter was taught society and culture by Kontou, petitioned Girginis for answers about Kontou’s employment on Tuesday, telling the principal she was “deeply concerned” the Sutherland woman was allowed direct contact with students while she was being investigated for child abuse offences.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-30
🔮 Georges River College Senior Campus Principal Anna Girginis wrote to parents on Wednesday, a week after Kontou was granted bail in Sutherland Local Court, to share information about a “matter of concern for our school community”. “As you may be aware, a college staff member was recently charged with child sex offences,” Girginis wrote.
2026-09-30 · The Sydney Morning Herald
Principal addresses parents after former Newington teacher charged with rape · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 1 hedged)

The principal of the southern Sydney school where Deandra Kontou worked until she was charged over the alleged rape of a Newington student last week is encouraging students to seek counselling and contact professional hotlines while their former teacher confronts a string of child abuse offences. asserted
teacher → work → offences
Kontou, charged with nine offences against the Newington student, had for the past two years worked at Georges River College Oatley Senior Campus as police investigated the alleged attack that triggered her abrupt dismissal from the prestigious Sydney private school in 2019. asserted
that → charge → 2019
32-year-old remains on the payroll of the Education Department and has been placed on “alternative duties” while banned from teaching children under her bail conditions. asserted
old → remain → conditions
Police said the Newington student was under 16 at the time of the alleged abuse, and have brought charges of grooming, sexual assault and sexual touching against Kontou. asserted
student → say → Kontou
She is not accused of criminal wrongdoing while at the Oatley school. asserted
She → accuse → school
Georges River College Senior Campus Principal Anna Girginis wrote to parents on Wednesday, a week after Kontou was granted bail in Sutherland Local Court, to share information about a “matter of concern for our school community”. “As you may be aware, a college staff member was recently charged with child sex offences,” Girginis wrote. uncertain
Girginis → write → offences
If you are concerned regarding the impact of this matter and wish for your child to access counselling, please contact the college to arrange this when classes resume.” asserted
classes → regard → this
The Oatley school community has been in shock since the charges against Kontou were reported by media on Monday. asserted
charges → report → Monday
One parent, whose daughter was taught society and culture by Kontou, petitioned Girginis for answers about Kontou’s employment on Tuesday, telling the principal she was “deeply concerned” the Sutherland woman was allowed direct contact with students while she was being investigated for child abuse offences. asserted
she → teach → offences
“I believe parents are entitled to understand how student welfare and safety have been protected in this situation,” the parent wrote to the principal. asserted
parent → believe → principal
Girginis didn’t address in the letter whether the school was aware of the police investigation when Kontou was hired or during the course of her employment. asserted
Kontou → address → employment
Kontou was removed from the school as detectives prepared the charges against her, and the NSW Education Standards Authority has revoked her accreditation. asserted
Authority → remove → accreditation
Kontou was dismissed from Newington in November 2019, shortly after allegations against her were conveyed to college staff. asserted
allegations → dismiss → staff
She also led a year 7 mentorship group while at the Stanmore college, where she went by her maiden name Haralambidis. asserted
she → lead → name
Kontou was granted conditional bail in Sutherland Local Court last Wednesday to return to her home in Sydney’s southern suburbs. asserted
Kontou → grant → suburbs
She is banned from entering schools or undertaking teaching jobs that require contact with children, contacting the alleged victim and any prosecuting witnesses, or being in the company of a child without another adult present. asserted
that → ban → adult
Kontou is required to report to Sutherland Police Station weekly, surrender her passport and not enter an international point of departure from Australia. asserted
Kontou → require → Australia
She will next appear at Burwood Local Court on November 25. asserted
She → appear → November
The school, founded in 1863, started accepting girls into its classrooms this year following a highly contentious decision that led to courtroom showdowns and a broader culture war over the merits of all-boy schools and toxic masculinity. asserted
that → found → schools
Be the first to know when major news happens. asserted
news → know → ?
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support