Teacher at prestige girls’ school charged with sex assault of student

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Schelle, C. (2026, October 6). Teacher at prestige girls’ school charged with sex assault of student. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/victoria/teacher-at-prestige-girls-school-charged-with-sex-assault-of-student-20261006-p6137k.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 2026-10-06 · by Caroline Schelle

Content note This article describes sexual violence.

Quick Summary

Melbourne's Methodist Ladies' College recently announced that former teacher Kam Kenny-Jones has been charged with sexually assaulting a student under 17. Principal Julia O’Shea informed parents via email that concerns were raised in September, leading to Kenny-Jones being stood down and eventually dismissed before the police charges were filed last weekend. The school emphasizes its commitment to transparency and support for affected students and staff while respecting the judicial process by declining further comment.

Written by AI on 2026-10-06, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Deandra Kontou, a 32-year-old teacher at Newington College in Sydney, was charged with nine offenses related to the alleged rape and sexual abuse of a teenage student during a school trip to Fitzroy Island on the Great Barrier Reef. The incidents reportedly occurred between December 2021 and May 2022, mostly taking place within school hours at Stanmore. Kontou allegedly exposed the student to indecent material online, groomed him, coerced him into non-consensual sex acts, and twice sexually touched him during the trip. She was immediately removed from the tour when another teacher learned of the alleged abuse.

Meanwhile, in Melbourne, Kam Kenny-Jones, a teacher at Methodist Ladies' College (MLC) until recently, faces one charge of sexual assault of a child under 17 years old. The school stood him down on September 2023 after concerns were raised and informed the police.

In a separate case in the UK, Melanie Rock, a communication support assistant at Medina College on the Isle of Wight, is accused of grooming a 15-year-old pupil by showering him with gifts and taking him to her home where she showed sex toys and engaged in intimate activities. She was seen eating lunch with the boy at a fast-food restaurant, leading another teacher to alert the school.

Written for “School Teacher Sexual Abuse Cases” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 7 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 School Teacher Sexual Abuse Cases

Crime & Law · 8 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 7% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

Teacher charged with grooming, sexually assaulting student Same event

The Sydney Morning Herald

Outlet record 61/100

Elite Melbourne girls' school sacks teacher after child sex assault charges as principal breaks news to parents: 'This will be confronting' Different event

Daily Mail

Hedges 7 of 26 claims Outlet record 69/100

“While both articles discuss similar events involving a teacher at Methodist Ladies' College being charged and dismissed, ARTICLE B describes an earlier internal investigation and firing of Kam Kenny-Jones, whereas ARTICLE A focuses on the charges brought against him.”

How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted

sentences that state something as happening or true

Uncertain

1 of 14 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

Crime & Law

Same framing elsewhere

articles that frame the event the way this one does

Analyzed 2026-10-06 · 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 · 6022 article(s) · 15 correction(s) detected

Running correction rate · 15 correction(s)

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Who wrote this

Caroline Schelle

8 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 The changes will apply from term 1 next year.

2026-10-28 · assertive framing · Schools to lose thousands in disability support payments

🔮 “The VCAA thoroughly investigates all alleged misconduct cases and may reduce a student’s examination score if they are found to have breached examination rules,” a spokesperson for the authority said.

2026-10-19 · assertive framing · Student caught using ChatGPT in VCE exam among 109 investigated for cheating

🔮 Why this seven-year-old, $34 shot might just be poised to spring an almighty Everest upset By

2026-10-17 · assertive framing · Caulfield Cup and The Everest LIVE: Big day of racing lined up for Melbourne and Sydney

🔮 “It’s not a dog-eat-dog world that people think it might be, and no one is dragging each other down.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · This school is so popular thousands miss out on entry every year

🔮 From next year, it will charge more than $47,000 for year 11 students.

2026-10-16 · assertive framing · Principal admits ‘failures’ after anti-abortion speaker addressed Scotch students

🔮 According to documents released at a bail hearing in May, a witness said Blamires was the only person to enter the office in the 10-minute window when the camera was placed in the office, and before it was moved.

2026-10-09 · mixed framing · Primary school teacher accused of filming more than 350 children

🔮 “As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate for the college to comment further.”

2026-10-06 · assertive framing · Teacher at prestige girls’ school charged with sex assault of student

Also by Caroline Schelle

Schools to lose thousands in disability support payments

2026-10-28 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Student caught using ChatGPT in VCE exam among 109 investigated for cheating

2026-10-19 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Caulfield Cup and The Everest LIVE: Big day of racing lined up for Melbourne and Sydney

2026-10-16 · The Sydney Morning Herald

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2026-10-16 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 8 articles by Caroline Schelle →

Topics

Kew MLC Melbourne Methodist Ladies’ College Victoria Police

Subjects

Kenny-Jones PERSON · 3× Julia O’Shea PERSON · 1× Kam Kenny-Jones PERSON · 1× Kew ORG · 1× MLC ORG · 1× Melbourne GPE · 1× Methodist Ladies’ College ORG · 1× Vermont Secondary College ORG · 1× Victoria Police ORG · 1×

Narrative

“In September, concerns about Mr Kenny-Jones were brought to the college’s attention, and we immediately stood him down from his duties that day while we investigated and reported the matter to the relevant authorities, including Victoria Police

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-06

🔮 “As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate for the college to comment further.”

2026-10-06 · The Sydney Morning Herald

Teacher at prestige girls’ school charged with sex assault of student · assertive framing

Claims (14 extracted, 1 hedged)

A teacher at Melbourne’s prestigious Methodist Ladies’ College has been charged with the sexual assault of a student. asserted

teacher → charge → student

In an email to parents, the school said police had notified it that Kam Kenny-Jones, a teacher at the school until just weeks ago, had been charged at the weekend with one count of sexual assault of a child under 17. asserted

Jones → say → 17

MLC principal Julia O’Shea said the news was confronting and unsettling but she felt it important to update the school community in a clear and timely manner. asserted

it → say → manner

we → bring → Police

,” she wrote in the email sent on Monday. asserted

she → write → Monday

“His employment was subsequently terminated.” asserted

employment → terminate → ?

The principal said she decided not to communicate directly to students because parents were best placed to decide how to talk to their child. asserted

parents → say → child

“I am sharing this information with families as soon as I can, as I wanted our families to hear this news directly from me, rather than through the media or elsewhere.” asserted

families → share → media

A school spokesperson confirmed the teacher was sacked last month before police laid charges. asserted

police → confirm → charges

“The principal and other senior school leaders have also personally contacted the parents of students who had classroom contact with Mr Kenny-Jones,” he said. asserted

he → contact → Jones

The Kew school said its focus was on caring for students and staff, ensuring support was available for them. asserted

support → say → them

“As this matter is before the courts, it would not be appropriate for the college to comment further.” asserted

college → comment → courts

Kenny-Jones taught students in years 7 to 12 in various subjects. asserted

Jones → teach → subjects

According to his social media pages, he was at the school for five years, and formerly worked at Vermont Secondary College. uncertain

he → accord → College

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