An Australian teacher is facing nine serious charges after authorities accused her of grooming and sexually assaulting a male student, including during an overnight school trip to the Great Barrier Reef.
Deandra Kontou, 32, has been charged with a string of child abuse-related offenses, including aggravated sexual assault, four counts of sexual assault and allegedly using an electronic device to groom the student.
The allegations date back several years to when Kontou, who previously went by the surname Haralambidis, worked at Newington College, a private boys’ school in Sydney.
She began working at the school in 2017 and is believed to have left in 2019.
According to allegations outlined in court reporting, the alleged abuse unfolded over roughly six months.
Prosecutors allege Kontou initially showed the boy indecent material as part of an effort to prepare or groom him for sexual activity.
She is then accused of communicating with the student through electronic messages and escalating the alleged behavior while the two were at school.
Authorities allege that several incidents occurred during school hours on or near the Newington College campus.
Kontou is accused of twice coercing the student into sexual acts without his consent and of sexually touching him on other occasions.
The allegations later extended beyond the Sydney campus.
Several months after the alleged behavior began, Kontou accompanied students on an overnight school trip to Fitzroy Island, located inside the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park off the coast of Queensland.
Authorities allege she sexually touched the student twice during the day before sexually assaulting him between approximately 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. that night.
All of the allegations remain unproven in court, and Kontou is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless convicted.
Kontou was arrested in September and appeared in Sutherland Local Court following her arrest.
She was granted bail under strict conditions.
Those conditions reportedly require her to surrender her passport and report to police every day. She is also prohibited from contacting the alleged victim or witnesses connected to the case.
Kontou has additionally been banned from entering school grounds, working as a teacher or spending time with a child unless the child’s parent or guardian is present.
She is scheduled to return to court in November.
The case has also raised new questions about what happened after Kontou left Newington College.
According to Australian media reports, she departed the school shortly after an allegation connected to the Fitzroy Island trip was reported to other staff members.
Parents were reportedly told at the time that she was taking an “approved leave of absence” when she did not return following the trip.
Kontou later worked a number of casual teaching positions before obtaining a permanent role at Georges River College’s senior campus in Oatley in 2024.
None of the criminal charges currently filed against her relate to her employment at Georges River College or her work within the NSW public school system.
However, her later employment has triggered a separate review by education officials.
NSW Deputy Premier and Education Minister Prue Car ordered an urgent examination of the Department of Education’s handling of Kontou’s employment after reports emerged that authorities had been aware of a police investigation before she obtained the permanent public-school position.
The review is expected to examine what information was shared among police, education officials and other agencies and what was known when employment decisions were made.
The principal of Georges River College’s senior campus also contacted families following news of the charges, stressing that student safety and wellbeing remained the school’s highest priorities.
Counseling and other support were made available to students who may have been affected by the allegations.
Kontou now faces court proceedings over the nine charges while officials separately examine whether warning signs were missed during the years between her departure from Newington College and her later employment in the public-school system.
The criminal allegations against her have not yet been tested at trial.
