The Catholic school community says it is saddened by the damage done to a young boy pictured in an explicit image solicited by one of its school principals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Philpot
PhilpotGrindr
The messages, often explicit, were exchanged for almost three months.
He received a single explicit image picturing the boy, who was from Canberra.
Philpot
Philpot's crime came to light when his school-issued iPhone was seized over a policy breach.
The Catholic Education Office then referred the matter to police.
The office issued a statement on Thursday, saying it was relieved the matter was now finalised.
It said it acted swiftly and appropriately to investigate, terminate Philpot's employment, and refer the matter to police.
"The Catholic Education community is saddened that the young person and his family have been affected in such a damaging way," the statement read.
"Parents have a right to expect that their children will be safe at school and Catholic Education takes its obligations for child safety in schools seriously."
"In the Philpot case, as soon as they [were] alerted to a serious breach of policy, Catholic Education Office staff commenced an investigation and terminated his employment.
"The Catholic Education Office followed standard protocols and referred the matter to the police whose subsequent investigation led to the conviction in court yesterday."
The mother of the boy, aged 13 and 14 at the time, told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the crime had turned her family's lives upside down.
She said the emotional scars would last forever.
"Our lives have become fragile and fractured," she said.
Philpot was ordered to be of good behaviour, and was directed to continue counselling, which he said he was undertaking to try to understand why he had committed the crime.
Chief Justice Murrell told Philpot his position and experience as a teacher and principal in the Catholic education system should have made him acutely aware of the psychological immaturity and vulnerability of children.
"A lot of people put their faith in me and their trust in me and I have clearly broken that trust," he said.
