Teacher charged with grooming, sexually assaulting student

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.