Teacher allegedly raped Newington student during Great Barrier Reef trip

A Newington College teacher allegedly raped a student during an interstate trip and sexually assaulted him during school hours on or near the inner west campus, court documents reveal.

Deandra Kontou, 32, was last week charged with nine child abuse offences, including aggravated sexual assault, four counts of sexual assault, and using an electronic device to groom her victim.

She went by her maiden name, Haralambidis, while teaching at the prestigious private school.

The alleged abuse spanned six months and began with Kontou allegedly showing the boy indecent material, intending to make it easier to “procure the child for unlawful sexual activity”, according to court documents.

Over the next month, Kontou allegedly began grooming the boy through messages, twice coerced him to sexually touch and carry out a sex act on her without his consent and twice sexually touched him.

Each of these offences occurred in Stanmore, where the school is located, and during school hours.

A few months later, the abuse allegedly continued on a senior boys’ camp at Fitzroy Island, on the Great Barrier Reef. There, Kontou is accused of twice sexually touching the child during the day before sexually assaulting him between 10pm and 11pm at night.

Most of the sexual offences are categorised as aggravated as Kontou was the child’s geography teacher. Research trips to the Great Barrier Reef, where students are exposed to the reef’s unique marine life and ecosystems, are not uncommon among Sydney’s private schools.

Kontou was moved on by Newington shortly after the Fitzroy Island camp, once the allegation was conveyed to college staff.

She was arrested last Monday and appeared before Sutherland Local Court that day. She was granted bail on the condition she reported to police daily, surrender her passport and not contact the alleged victim or witnesses.

The court also barred her from entering any school grounds, teaching children and being in the company of a child without the child’s parent or guardian.

Kontou taught for two years at Newington and led a year 7 mentorship group. Parents in Kontou’s mentorship class were told she was on an “approved leave of absence”, days after the allegation was made to college staff.

The leave announcement followed days of confusion from parents, who contacted Newington’s head of year 7 after Kontou failed to return to campus after the school trip.

“Mrs Haralambidis [Kontou] will not be responding to emails and will appreciate respect for her privacy,” Newington’s head of year 7 told parents enquiring about her prolonged absence, in an email soon after the trip.

“Please do not hesitate to communicate with me any issues or concerns regarding the boys … the boys will continue to be supported in the Newington way.”

Kontou began permanent work at Georges River College Senior Campus in Oatley in 2024 after a string of casual jobs, where she taught society and culture, history and geography until she was arrested in her Sutherland home last week.

Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car has ordered an urgent review into the Education Department’s hiring of Kontou at the Oatley school in 2024. The review is expected to examine any correspondence between the police and the Education Department before Kontou was hired, and any issues raised about her character in the recruitment process.

The review was ongoing as of Thursday afternoon, and may involve interviews with staff from the Oatley campus, who are on school holidays until the end of next week.

The NSW Education Standards Authority has revoked her accreditation while she is banned from teaching children and entering schools. She remained on the public payroll until Wednesday morning, when Education Department officials suspended her without pay after accessing her charge sheet and bail conditions.

The charges Kontou faces don’t relate to her time at the Oatley school, and she is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing while employed by the Department of Education over the past two years.

Georges River College Senior Campus principal Anna Girginis encouraged students to seek counselling and contact professional hotlines while their former teacher confronts the offences. She called pupil care wellbeing the school’s “highest priorities” in a letter to parents on Wednesday afternoon.

Girginis didn’t address in the letter whether the school was aware of the police investigation when Kontou was hired or over the course of her employment.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732) or the Men’s Referral Service on 1300 766 491.

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