Anna Lucinda Blackburn
A teacher who has been sued for breaching her duty of care by allegedly having sex with one of her students has denied that their relationship ever took place.
Anna Lucinda Blackburn faced the NSW Industrial Relations Commission this morning claiming that the NSW Department of Education acted wrongly when it sacked her over the alleged relationship.
The student David Maurice Withyman is suing Ms Blackburn and the state of NSW because he says that their relationship drove him to commit crime.
But Ms Blackburn's lawyer, Eric White, told the commission that the entire relationship had been imagined by Mr Withyman and the department dismissed her without adequately investigating the veracity of his allegations.
"Not withstanding the knowledge of the department of the possibility that David was fabricating the allegations, and knowing that he had mental health issues, the department didn't make a single investigation into the mental health history of the student, which the applicant says is indicative of a person who has the propensity to tell lies and believe in his own lies," Mr White said.
Mr Withyman had visited Ms Blackburn unannounced at her home on two occasions and thrown her into the swimming pool at a school excursion in 2003, and she had reported the incidents to senior staff after both incidents.
The school then drew up a behavioural contract with Mr Withyman.
But in late 2003 Mr Withyman assaulted Ms Blackburn and stalked her and exhibited behaviour that amounted to an obsession.
"The allegations are nothing more than a schoolboy's infatuation, more like an obsession, and that in fact he stalked the applicant throughout this entire period."
The student has not provided a single piece of evidence that the sexual relationship ever occurred, Mr White said.
The case continues.
http://www.teachercrime.com/international.html
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