Former students of Deandra Kontou, the ex-Newington College teacher charged with nine sexual offences including rape, have described themselves as “upset, hurt and shocked” by the allegations against her.
Kontou, 32, appeared in public for the first time since her arrest when she reported for bail at Sutherland Police Station in Sydney on Wednesday morning. Wearing a black hoodie, tracksuit bottoms and flip-flops, she declined to answer questions before getting into a car.
The former geography teacher has been accused of grooming and sexually assaulting a student who was under 16 in 2019. She taught at the exclusive all-boys school for two years and is now suspended without pay from her role at Georges River College Senior Campus.
Former female students said they could not reconcile the allegations with their memories of a teacher they regarded as kind and fun. They recalled filming dancing videos with Kontou in a classroom, including one in which she danced between two students while wearing a Juicy Couture tracksuit.
There is no suggestion that the video itself was improper.
Allegations against former Newington teacher
Police allege that Kontou’s alleged offending took place over six months in 2019, with most of the incidents occurring during school hours at Newington’s Stanmore campus.
Court documents allege that she groomed the student on May 1 that year by exposing him to indecent material, with the intention of making it easier to procure him for sexual activity. Police further allege that she continued grooming him through electronic communications until September 27.
During the same period, she is accused of inciting the student to perform a sexual act and to touch her without his consent. She also faces allegations of sexually touching him without consent, including an aggravated charge relating to an alleged incident at the Stanmore campus.
The most serious allegations concern an interstate trip to Fitzroy Island in November 2019. Police allege that Kontou sexually touched the student on November 3 before having intercourse with him between 10pm and 11pm without his consent, knowing that he was not consenting.
Kontou, who used the surname Haralambidis while teaching at Newington, left the school in late 2019 and later began working at Georges River College Senior Campus.
Her bail conditions require her to report to police weekly. She is also prohibited from entering school grounds or going near children.
The case is due to return to Burwood Local Court on November 25, when a brief of evidence is expected to be served.
A New South Wales Department of Education spokesperson said the allegations were serious and that the department’s priority was the safety and wellbeing of students. The department said it continued to work closely with NSW Police.
