Esperance Senior High School staff member charged, suspended over child sex abuse allegations

The Education Department has suspended a staff member from Esperance Senior High School after historical child sex abuse allegations came to light. Police said they have charged a 48-year-old Esperance man with three counts of indecently dealing with a child under 16 and two counts of stupefying in order to commit an indictable offence. He is due to appear in court next month. The department’s executive director for professional standards and conduct, Mary Brown, said the staff member had been stood down “immediately”. “After being notified of historical allegations, the Department of Education immediately suspended a Goldfields staff member pending the outcome of an investigation,” she said. In a letter to parents, Esperance principal Ian Masarei confirmed the department’s “discipline investigation” into the “non-teaching staff member” was ongoing. “Given this matter remains subject to legal proceedings, there is little more that can be said at this point in time,” he wrote. “I will attempt to keep you informed along the way, however, the confidential nature of the allegations makes it difficult for me to share in-depth details.”