Australian teacher kept drawing taxpayer wages for a week after being charged with raping a student

From the Newshound archive · first published 1 October 2026 · last updated 2 October 2026.

Deandra Kontou, 32, was charged with nine child sex offences — including aggravated sexual assault and grooming — yet continued drawing a New South Wales public salary until Wednesday, when authorities finally suspended her without pay after reviewing her charge sheet. She had been quietly transferred to Georges River College Senior Campus in Oatley in 2024, two years after police had already informed education authorities of the allegations of child abuse against her. The alleged abuse of the Newington College student took place over six months in 2019, including a rape during a senior boys' trip to Fitzroy Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

NSW Deputy Premier Prue Car has demanded an urgent investigation into how Kontou was able to remain employed given that police had previously alerted education officials to the allegations against her.

Court documents allege Kontou began the abuse by exposing the boy to indecent material, then groomed him through messages before twice coercing him into sexual acts on school grounds during class hours.

Newington College issued no public statement at the time, quietly parting ways with her and telling concerned parents only that she had stopped responding to emails.