Australian Teacher Held For Sex Abuse In Phuket

[SanSaiExPat]

Questions to be asked:

"Why was he dismissed for?"

And than:

"Is that little boy - btw... 4 years old now... - the only one?

And than:

"Is the (smiling) accused the only one involved?"

and than... when the truth will be known, and if he is the culprit... I hope they'll keep him in one of their jails for a long long time...

Where did you learn to speak English? It's terrible.

[poldebol]

Several posters claim there MUST be more to this? Why? To satisfy your greed for sensation?

In Belgium a teacher was accused by three 12 year old girls. He and his family went through a hel_l for one and a half year. The usual anonymous crowd of cowards threatened with the stake and castration. The girls did not keep their mouth shut and it came out that they had tried to punish the men because he gave them bad marks. He had lost his job and had moved to another town.

I hope this Australian teacher is innocent. That would mean less damage to the 4-year old boy. If somebody made the boy tell lies, he/she must stand trial.

If the teacher is proven to be guilty, he must be punished as the law speaks. But most of all, the boy must given lots of love and some therapy.

[Murf]

This guy may or may not be guilty- and i hope the evidence is there whatever the outcome.

BUT, but..i have to say, i would never send my 4 year old to a school in thailand that had white male western teachers- sure there are many good ones, but there is also a fair chance that the teacher is here in thailand for the women/men (and possibly kids)and are simply unqualified and /or unmotivated for the job and /or dangerous. Not a gamble i would take with my kid.

So if a teacher likes women or men, they are bad news...

I guess everyone should get taught by priests, nuns and monks...??

[Phuket Stan]

Much as I detest child molestors, I really hope that there is more evidence than what has been reported here.

It seems strange that the child has waited so long before speaking up.

If he is guilty I will join the "string him up" brigade, but with this report I cannot form an opinion.

You get my vote....there is something not right about this

[BigBikeBKK]

Convicted child molesters should be locked up for life BUT I also agree that this guy is INNOCENT until PROVEN guilty.

Come on guys, a 4 year old tells a story in March about alleged abuse that happened last December...

That is not enough evidence for a conviction and unless there is other evidence we don't know about I'm rather surprised the guy was arrested in the first place...

[Tigs]

accusations like this, and the subsequently rapid media coverage and statements by police make me very nervous about the Thai justice system. Everybody on this thread should just sloooow down! We all know what everybody thinks about child molesters and the punishments that should be handed out, so lets not have another thread full of 'chop his nuts off' let him rot in jail' etc etc. What concerns me here on the face of it is that a four year old child claims some form of abuse in the toilets, 'last year'! but cannot give a date (obviously). I am inclined to agree with the poster whose initial thoughts are that the guy is being set up. The rights of the family to privacy are important, but so are the rights of the accused until they are proven beyond doubt, guilty!

The kids of my ex went to a private boarding school in the UK. It was very good and very exclusive. One 9 year old girl at the school laid a claim of abuse against the Headmaster. The shock that went around was incredible, parents meetings were called and the Headmasters wife and kids who lived at the school faced a public inquisition, it was sick. The Headmaster was immediately suspended by the board. 14 months and untold family trauma later at the court case the now 10 year old suddenly admitted under questioning that her mother had put her up to it as 'she didn't like the headmaster' <deleted>! There never was any abuse, the Headmaster ended up divorced prior to the court case and he lost his Job as it was for a teacher with a 'Family' to live in at the school. The teacher, his wife and their two lovely children had their entire lives wrecked by some vindictive cow twisting the mind of her 9 year old daughter. I don't know what happened to the cow of a mother that started it, but even if she got 2 years inside, it was nothing compared to the lost lifetime of a destroyed family.

Don't be too hasty now!

[DaiHard]

He's been arrested. He's denied the charges. He's not been proven guilty.

However, If it's true, absolutely revolting.

What is it about people in positions of trust and kids - clergy, teachers etc.

It's about time that more thorough back-ground checks were made by the appropriate authorities, but especially by these schools that families entrust their children to. And you have to ask yourself - would you entrust your toddlers to a 51 year old man working in a day school - a kindergarden? That would set off an alarm bell immediately in my opinion. This guy is going to teach my toddler nursery rhymes?! I'm sorry, that doesn't compute well.

The school, I hope, is also held responsible if this case is proven in a court of law. It will be a lesson that all schools should be doing more thorough back-ground checks on people they employ to 'teach' children - regardless of their age.

Oh dear it looks like you brought your prejudices here from the UK. So according to you every male over 50 and expressing an interest in teaching is a paedophile eh? I usually find that those who shout loudest about paedophiles are the ones harbouring the most guilty secrets.

And for your information Thai schools have to obtain a Police Check from the person they are intending to employ. "But what if it's their first offence?" I hear you cry. Well in that case they're not going to catch them with any sort of bureaucratic procedure are they? Even the insane system in the UK (where everyone is a pedo and its up to you to prove you are not) wouldn't have caught them.

Don't hang this man unless he's found guilty in which case a few years in Bang Kwang will help clarify his mind better than anything anyone on here could do.

[elcent]

very strange

in case he will get out of this as innocent will he get compensation?

[spoon1967]

as already mentioned he's not been proved guilty, if he is then he's fair game to Thai prison...if he's not guilty his career and reputataion is finished, so even if he's not guilty he's been punished already, is that justice?

[thaifry]

More than half the teachers were asked to leave last year because a new director came in and felt that a lot of the teachers werent qualified enough. He was one of that group. It had nothing to do with these allegations. The unfair dismissal claim had absolutely nothing to do with this.

A few things that need to be kept in mind. A billionaire started this school. There is a lot of money to be made if the school is sued. There is a LOT more to this story that cannot be spoken about here. He was (and still is) a wonderful teacher and no one can believe that he would have done this. The saddest thing is, if this is just a spiteful attempt to cause problems, things like this stick forever.

People please dont assume guilt based on the arrest. Foreigners are often remanded because of fear that they will leave the country. Fingers crossed that the thai legal system lets justice prevail. Those of us that know all the facts doubt that any jury in Australia would find him guilty.

[Hollywood3000]

Maybe the kid said, "The teacher AMUSE me. " Not ABUSE me.? He could have been arrested for being really funny.

[Phuket Stan]

I note the Phuket Gazette have now taken the report from their website....strange strange strange

[bwalker1973]

My kids go to an all female teacher school, and each foreign teacher has two thai lady helpers.

Seems a lot of male teachers are getting done lately.

[strabel23]

I imagine the kid woluld have had at least some long tricky questioning by the authorities and kids dont hold up to well under interogation so their must have been a case that was at least beyond reasonable doubt to arrest the man, at least one would hope so

the problem with childern of that age is that they can be made to say whatever the questioner want. After a little while they'll start to make up stories, and convince themselves they're right. Takes a lot of care to get something 'true' out of them, and 'careful questioning' is not something that springs to mind talking about police in Phuket.

I agree. Usually this kind of act involves older children and any questioning of a child that age would involve leading questions that would be totally unreliable. Without and corroborating evidence from other students at the school I would say this guy is being set up for a scam. Don't be a bunch of busybodies jumping to any conclusions and I wouldn't trust the Thai authorities being fair and impartial to a foreigner in any event. I still remember when a foreigner involved in an accident with a Thai usually always had to pay.

[Haydn]

"I guess everyone should get taught by priests, nuns and monks.."

There was some statistics that suggested one third of the priests in Wales were homosexuals and one third alcholics

Lets wait to see what transpires but I do think myself that it is a little unusual for a male teacher to be teaching an infants class

[elcent]

More than half the teachers were asked to leave last year because a new director came in and felt that a lot of the teachers werent qualified enough. He was one of that group. It had nothing to do with these allegations. The unfair dismissal claim had absolutely nothing to do with this.

A few things that need to be kept in mind. A billionaire started this school. There is a lot of money to be made if the school is sued. There is a LOT more to this story that cannot be spoken about here. He was (and still is) a wonderful teacher and no one can believe that he would have done this. The saddest thing is, if this is just a spiteful attempt to cause problems, things like this stick forever.

People please dont assume guilt based on the arrest. Foreigners are often remanded because of fear that they will leave the country. Fingers crossed that the thai legal system lets justice prevail. Those of us that know all the facts doubt that any jury in Australia would find him guilty.

Very interesting. I can smell the foul play already. You can talk here, no talk - no transparency.

[GeorgeO]

I would strongly urge caution amongst those who see fit to condemn this person in advance of any judicial hearing.

We are told that he was dismissed in December last year; the alleged incident therefore took place before then, but who knows how long before then. The child may have been just three years old at the time.

I recall the shocking way that children were taken from their homes and families based upon the actions of the Social Services in the UK who, through the power of suggestion, had infants recalling incidents that, in the end, had never happened.

If Mr. Clements is indeed guilty of the alleged offence, then I pity him, because he will get his just desserts when he is incarcerated, and I have no problem with that.

However, if he is not guilty, then I also pity him, but for different reasons, because the allegation has been made, his picture has been widely disseminated, and he will always be tarnished with this allegation, irrespective of whether it is proven to be unfounded.

[parrotfish1]

“It should be noted that Mr Clements was dismissed from the school in December 2009. There is absolutely no connection between his dismissal from the school and the criminal charge which he now faces.

They must have had some idea somethig was not right.

I am assuming that the child's version of events has included that of a sexual nature, and therefore one needs to really question this. How many 4 year old children do you know that speak of such events?

[zorro1]

he had a tattoo or a scar , something only to be seen semi naked is worthwhile of an arrest. finger pointing ? well lets hope it takes more than that. For those that cant believe a child can keep an assault to themselves for a year have no idea. Countless children will go into adulthood without ever reveailing abuse .This is not about the mans guilt as we wont know untill the courts take action, its pure speculation at this point

[lensta]

More than half the teachers were asked to leave last year because a new director came in and felt that a lot of the teachers werent qualified enough. He was one of that group. It had nothing to do with these allegations. The unfair dismissal claim had absolutely nothing to do with this.

A few things that need to be kept in mind. A billionaire started this school. There is a lot of money to be made if the school is sued. There is a LOT more to this story that cannot be spoken about here. He was (and still is) a wonderful teacher and no one can believe that he would have done this. The saddest thing is, if this is just a spiteful attempt to cause problems, things like this stick forever.

People please dont assume guilt based on the arrest. Foreigners are often remanded because of fear that they will leave the country. Fingers crossed that the thai legal system lets justice prevail. Those of us that know all the facts doubt that any jury in Australia would find him guilty.

But the problem with the Thai judicial system is that you are guilty unless you can prove you are inocent. Everyone hates a paedophile and would like to see them strung up, but just look at the comments on here from many people, without knowing the full story they just assume the guy is guilty.

[thaifry]

Oh and for clarification he didnt teach the infants. He taught primary in a different school building.

[aussimike]

What happened to innocent until proven guilty? If he did it then nothing would be too horrible to do to him but so far we don't know!

I doubt the boys in brown would have allowed his name and mug be plastered in public if there was any doubt that he was not guilty or at least had a track record. Hard to believe that a man like this gets to either 51 or is it 57 without arousing suspicions. I would think that perhaps the school removed him from his position for a related reason. If the school was negligent which seems likely they are equally guilty in my eyes of betraying the trust of the family and more importantly the child. I have to say that in the past 12 months there seems to be an influx of scum bags in the Chalong, Kata and Karon areas abusing young women. As the girls are working girls they dont report the crimes which allows the bast*rds to move about freely. That all said I have met quite a few teachers who claimed to have secured their qualifications on the internet.

I would think that perhaps the school removed him from his position for a related reason. If the school was negligent which seems likely they are equally guilty in my eyes

in your eyes really --- back in the old days you would be referred to as a hanging judge - guilty or not just hang um high -- u think - seems odd that u can - how do u know what he was dismissed for - in another post there is a comment the dismissal was performance related - oh we are so quick to judge -- innocent till proven guilty and i just wonder if a 3 + year old boy is a credible witness -- the police have acted because the family of the child have lodged a complaint -4 months or later after the fact -- strange also - lets see it the courts come to the same conclusion as u -- and every person arrested in thailand is has their name and pic plastered all over the tv -- so nothing new there --- perhaps you should sit back and follow this story with great interest seening u have found him guilty already -- u could even go to the court to give evindence about what u think - think u need to get your eyes checked also -- wake up --

[elcent]

I am assuming that the child's version of events has included that of a sexual nature, and therefore one needs to really question this. How many 4 year old children do you know that speak of such events?

As far as I know from my experiences with kids they don't have a time/date feeling. They hardly ever know the clock, so how could a 4 year old remember events nearly 4 months ago? They sometime remember things when you think they didn't listen though.

[parrotfish1]

Children remember holidays from when they are 2-3 years old. Having worked as a paediatric nurse for 17 years, i see children that remember unpleasant events, such as hospital visits from the age of 2!

Edited March 22, 2010 by parrotfish1

[backsoon]

Enough said by hot-heads. Let's wait and see. Personally, I want to believe the man is innocent. Too many sticky questions can, and must be raised.

boy conducted in the presence of independent child welfare officers and a psychiatrist? Why so late? Is a 4 year old trustworthy? Are the memories of a young child going back for sure? Wouldn't the trauma tell tales right when it happened? What was the formal reason for his dismissal? Is there a battle between the School and the dismissed? Was the boy a successful student or a failure?

And finally, was questioning of the boy conducted in the presence of independent child welfare officers and a qualified independent psychiatrist?

Before all these questions are resolved, hold the execution.

If, I repeat, If the man is proven guilty, hang him high ! But not before...

[elcent]

the case will drag on for 2 - 3 years. If he doesn't get bail he may go for a confession to half the sentence. Hope he fights and that he gets support from his family, friends and a good lawyer.

[mrpositive]

Obvious point. Charges are alleged.

I have to say I am impressed with the statement released by the school.

My experiences have been less than pleasing.

I once worked at a trilingual school in Samut Prakan - that had a drunk who was fired (he actually would leave mid-class to a can of beer awaiting upstairs), and a pedophile who was later extradited to Canada. Both former teachers appeared photographed in marketing 'writ large' for the school. They continued to appear on brochures and website material (possibly still do). The owner/director of the school refused to pay for new marketing material, and continued to sell the school with happy smiling photos of the former teachers in question. Astounding.

Sadly at another school, I observed student behaviour that required investigation. The matter was swept under the carpet for fear of bad press and loss of at least one customer. Attempts to email the world peak body for child welfare issues, UNICEF, for advice on the matter fell on deaf ears.

At the same school, a teacher telling inappropriate 'jokes' of a sexual nature - regarding his p2 students, after having been warned by his colleagues, met with rough justice by said colleagues (not to condone such things). Long story short, he didn't finish his probation period.

Further on in my own career, as DOS of another school, a new teacher under my observation and new to Thailand, displayed more than mildly suspicious behaviour. A little chat over a cigarette outside, revealed that there was enough element of doubt in this individual to cease his employment and provide his name and details to Tourist Police.

So - screening/ reporting? What to do?

Reporting: Clearly all suspicious behaviour should be reported. In western countries such as the US, the slightest hint of something inappropriate becomes instantly serious, and is investigated accordingly. We know how difficult it can be in some countries to be confident of appropriate action being taken, but of course, child welfare is paramount. If you suspect something, confide in at least one trusted professional colleague. Preferably one with actual formal education in Early Childhood Studies or Child Psychology. Consider the possible result of not reporting such an issue. There is a Division of Children and Women Protection, Royal Police Office, Rama 1 Road, Bangkok. Enough said.

Screening: Even the best screening processes worldwide are not 100% effective. Being 'switched on' to your duty of care to students, and having ownership of a sense of vigilance, is probably the most important tool in safeguarding students. Professional, discrete discussion with suitable staff regarding these uncomfortable issues, may well be the only defence some young people have against predators that may slip through the net.

My 2 satang on the issue.

Note to the Moderator: I am happy to revise any elements of this post, should you feel there is merit in its publication. Facts verifiable upon request. Thanks.

[parrotfish1]

As far as I know from my experiences with kids they don't have a time/date feeling. They hardly ever know the clock, so how could a 4 year old remember events nearly 4 months ago? They sometime remember things when you think they didn't listen though.

Lets also remember that children in the UK start school as young as 4 years old. Are we suggesting that they won't retain anything taught to them, as they have no concept of time/date??

[elcent]

Children remember holidays from when they are 2-3 years old. Having worked as a paediatric nurse for 17 years, i see children that remember unpleasant events, such as hospital visits from the age of 2!

... but then again they don't remember a date or time. They remember events and sometime it's fantasies too, depending on their parents care.

[TonyH]

I expect this whole forum will be people damning this man before anything has been proven, how can they take the word of a 4 year old and say the man is guilty. The boy could have easily been coached by the mother who could stand to gain financially by this perhaps someone found out he was gay and figured he would make a good target?

We don't know until he is proven guilty, and that will be very hard to prove.

After this forum has become out of control and filled up with bigoted slander, abuse and hearsay it will be taken down and none will know the truth as this forum never follows up.