Magistrate withdraws
A hearing into an Australian teacher accused of running a gambling syndicate with his students has collapsed after the sitting magistrate was heard to have said he “could not wait” to find him guilty.
Wollongong High teacher Phil Saunders is accused of indecent assault of a person under his authority, indecent assault of a person under 16, intimidation, and engaging in gambling with a minor.
could not wait for the matter to be over and to find the accused guilty”
However, the hearing has collapsed after magistrate Michael Ong recused himself from the process after a police officer reported that Ong had said to a prosecutor he “could not wait for the matter to be over and to find the accused guilty and move onto the next thing.”
Underage gambling ring
The court had heard 29 days of evidence suggesting that amid accounts of indecent assault, Saunders was also running a gambling ring with several of his students.
Witnesses reported seeing a whiteboard displaying bets on English Premier League soccer games, next to which were the names of individual students.
money was collected from students and placed on the desk of the teacher
It was also stated that money was collected from students and placed on the teacher’s desk, although witnesses did not report seeing Saunders collect the cash.
One of Saunders’ colleagues also stated that Saunders is a die-hard Liverpool FC fan and enjoys betting on horse racing at the weekends. In response, Saunders stated that he only bet on racing, and never soccer.
The case had already taken an unusual turn when a friend of Saunders, Milos Dobre, pleaded guilty earlier in the year to intimidating witnesses after threatening one of his colleagues in a car park.
Magistrate denies conversation
The hearing soon became jeopardized when Ong became aware of a written statement from a police officer, who had spoken out of court to a prosecutor who claimed Ong was desperate to pass a guilty verdict.
Ong rejected the report of his conversation, stating: “I deny any of the words against the accused in this matter attributed to me in the statement. I do not hold a bias towards the accused now or at any time … I do not accept any bias before these proceedings.”
Ong declared that the hearing would have to be dropped due to public perception
Despite the assertation, Ong declared that the hearing would have to be dropped due to public perception and confidence in the justice system.
“The overriding consideration is the public’s confidence in the system of justice as it applies to them,” said Ong. “The public’s confidence would be more affected by the continuation with potential bias.”
Despite legal bills for the case running in excess of AU$400,000 ($268,700), a new hearing will now take place, which is expected to take around thirty days to finalize.