St Kevin's headmaster Stephen Russell resigns, sports dean stood down
St Kevin's College headmaster Stephen Russell has resigned in the wake of a series of damaging reports of the Catholic school's handling of a child grooming case.
Mr Russell sent a letter to parents and guardians on Wednesday, saying he had quit, effective immediately, in the interests of the Toorak-based school and its students.
Stephen Russell has resigned as principal of St Kevin's College in Toorak.
"In my time at St Kevin’s I have always tried to put the school before self and the students’ wellbeing at the very top of my list of priorities," he wrote.
"I believe the current situation means that the best way to achieve this is to resign."
Luke Travers, the school's dean of sport, was formally stood down on Tuesday, according to a statement by Edmund Rice Education Australia.
Mr Russell's letter did not directly address the barrage of criticism Mr Russell has faced this week over the school's management of a child grooming court case in 2015 involving a former year 9 student and a former volunteer athletics coach.
Mr Russell said the school community had nurtured him and his family for 24 years.
"I extend my best wishes and encouragement to the current student body to be 'good people', the way so many who went before them have across the decades," he wrote.
He concluded by writing that he was "humbled by the many offers of support and expressions of goodwill I have recently received".
Mr Russell has faced public pressure to resign this week, after the ABC's Four Corners program reported that he gave a reference in court to Peter Kehoe, who was convicted in 2015 of sexual grooming of year 9 St Kevin's student Paris Street.
The reference was "limited and factual", Mr Russell said this week, but he also expressed regret for writing it and said he would not do so today.
The school's dean of sport, Luke Travers, also wrote a character reference for Kehoe and defended him in court.
As of late Tuesday, Mr Travers was still employed at St Kevin's.
But the school's directing body, Edmund Rice Education Australia, announced it had stood him down on Tuesday pending further investigations of his behaviour relating to the conviction of Kehoe.
Mr Travers told Paris Street during a meeting between the senior teacher and the student that he considered Kehoe's grooming a "storm in a teacup" and "didn't want to see him convicted", Four Corners reported.
Edmund Rice executive director Dr Wayne Tinsey released a statement to the St Kevin's College community on Wednesday.
He announced that John Crowley, principal of St Patrick's College in Ballarat, had been appointed St Kevin's new principal.
Dr Tinsey said St Kevin's handling of child welfare had fallen short of community standards.
"No student should ever have to go through what Paris Street did and no family should either. We are so sorry and we let you down," he wrote.
"EREA accepts the gravity of the matters raised in recent days," he wrote. "Business as usual is not an option for St Kevin’s in response to these issues, which need to be addressed as a matter of priority. It is clear that what has occurred has fallen short of what the community expects, and what we expect of ourselves."
Victoria's education watchdog, the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority, is reviewing if St Kevin's has breached child safety standards in light of this week's reports.
If you or anyone you know needs support call Lifeline 131 114, or beyondblue 1300 224 636.