Teacher ‘touched teen girl’

A FORMER teacher at one of the Gold Coast’s elite private schools repeatedly hugged and indecently touched a 15-yearold student, a court has heard.

The teacher, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty in Southport District Court to three counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16.

The court heard the teacher first hugged the girl in 2015 in celebration. From there it is alleged the hugs became frequent until one incident where the teacher hugged the girl, placing a hand on her lower back to bring them closer together.

Crown prosecutor Michael Connolly said in a second incident the teacher placed the hand on the girl’s inner thigh in a classroom.

The court heard on a third occasion the teacher walked close to the girl and pressed his crotch into her knee so that she could feel his genitalia.

Mr Connolly said the girl did not say anything because of her age and the teacher was in a position of power.

The girl first told her friend of the touching before going to her parents who went to the school and the police.

Defence barrister Peter Nolan, instructed by McMillan Criminal Law, said the teacher was a tactile person. He said he was often hugging students or patting them on the back.

Mr Nolan said it was unlikely no one else would have seen the incidents because of their public nature.

The teacher was dismissed by the school after the complaint from the parents was investigated.

Mr Nolan said there was a difference between inappropriate behaviour by a teacher and criminal indecent behaviour.

The trial continues today.