- Indigenous school principal arrested by NT officers
The principal of an Indigenous school in the Northern Territory has been accused of physically abusing several children.
Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris has been arrested by Northern Territory police and is being held at the Alice Springs guardhouse, reports The Australian.
It is understood Northern Territory Premier Eva Lawler has been informed of the allegations, which are not sexual in nature, by Education Minister Mark Monaghan.
According to a school staff member, police were investigating an incident two years ago in which children vandalized a building used for childcare.
“The children entered through an unlocked door and smeared the whole place with paint,” the employee said.
“They didn’t break any windows, the door wasn’t locked and they worked their way in. They had a great time.”
The “shocked” employee said they had heard the arrest was a result of that incident and they “couldn’t believe it.”
Mr Morris, who has a PhD in Aboriginal trauma and teaches at Charles Darwin University, has previously spoken out in the media about the crisis facing Aboriginal children in remote communities.
Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris (pictured) is accused of assaulting children over an incident in which they allegedly vandalised a school building
Mr Morris said the school is in regular contact with local magistrates, allowing bail conditions to be adjusted for children aged 12 and over who wish to take part in after-school programmes.
He described female students who did not feel safe enough to go home because “they were worried about their uncles,” so they would wander the streets of Alice Springs at night unsupervised.
Others had spoken to him and said they would rather be in juvenile detention because it was better than their home situation, he said.
More to follow.