Sydney Teacher Charged with Student Rape Continues Receiving Government Salary
A Sydney high school teacher has been arrested and charged with raping a student and multiple sexual offenses, sparking public outrage as she continues to receive a government salary.
An elite high school teacher in Sydney has been arrested and charged with the rape of a student and a series of other serious sexual offenses. Despite the charges, she continues to receive a salary from the local education department.
According to a report by the Sydney Morning Herald, 32-year-old Deandra Contos was arrested last week and charged with nine counts, including aggravated sexual assault—an offense equivalent to rape under New South Wales law—four counts of sexual assault, and using electronic means to groom a student under the age of 16.
Investigation and Employment Status
The alleged offenses were committed in 2018 and 2019 while Contos worked as a geography teacher and year coordinator at Newington College, an exclusive private boys' school where annual tuition exceeds 48,000 Australian dollars.
However, the most controversial aspect of the case has now been revealed: despite the severe indictment, Contos remains registered as a regular employee of the education department and continues to draw a salary funded by Australian taxpayers. After leaving Newington in 2019 following the complaints, she continued teaching at other schools and has been employed at George River High School since 2024. Following her arrest, her teaching license was revoked, but the education department reassigned her to an alternative administrative role while continuing her pay pending legal proceedings.
Public Outrage and Court Conditions
The fact that Contos continued teaching at a public high school while police investigated her for sexual offenses against a minor has sparked immense outrage among parents. A mother of a child who studied under Contos this year urgently wrote to the school principal demanding clarification regarding screening processes and risk assessments.
Contos was released on conditional bail last Wednesday. The court ordered her to surrender her passport, stay away from airports, and report daily to a police station. Additionally, she is strictly prohibited from entering any educational institution or being in the company of children without a responsible adult present.
"Our thoughts are first and foremost with the victim and their family," stated Mark Morrison, acting campus head at Newington College, in a letter to staff and parents.
Contos's trial is scheduled to begin in late November, leaving the Australian public questioning whether the education department will succumb to public pressure and halt payments to the teacher at the center of this major scandal.
