Northern Territory teacher arrested over allegedly assaults of children
The principal of an Alice Springs independent school has been arrested in relation to historical alleged aggravated assaults at the school. The ABC understands Gavin Morris the vocal principal of Aboriginal school Yipirinya was arrested this morning raising concerns about the welfare of already vulnerable students.
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TVTranscript
00:00Revelations of Gavin Morris's arrest first came to light in the media this morning.
00:08They said that Gavin Morris was arrested, a 46-year-old man was arrested from earlier
00:18this morning in relation to historic physical assaults that occurred on multiple separate
00:25occasions in 2023.
00:28Police allege that there were six victims aged between 8 and 13 years old and that Dr
00:34Morris was principal at the time of this alleged offending.
00:39Police are continuing to investigate the matter and they've said that they expect to lay charges
00:44at some point today.
00:47Northern Territory Senator Jacinta Nambijimpa-Price, whose own mother works at the school, weighed
00:52into these revelations.
00:55Take a listen to some of what she had to say earlier today.
00:58It's a shock and again, you know, it's a matter before with the police and it has to play
01:05out in that particular way.
01:07My concern first and foremost is always with the children of Ypirrinya School, they're the
01:12most vulnerable in our community.
01:15And so Dr Morris has featured heavily in the media on the issues facing Alice Springs.
01:19What can you tell us about him?
01:22Well that's right, Joe.
01:24Gavin Morris has been outspoken in recent years around issues around crime and other
01:30youth issues facing Alice Springs, including detailing the poor housing conditions that
01:37many of the 300 plus students at Ypirrinya School face on a daily basis.
01:44Now Gavin Morris is a former NRL referee who moved to the Northern Territory several years
01:51ago.
01:52He finished at a remote Northern Territory school before taking on the job of principal
01:57at Ypirrinya in 2021.
02:00He was also elected to the Alice Springs Town Council in 2022, which has further elevated
02:09his profile.
02:10Now both Ypirrinya and the Alice Springs Town Council have declined to comment and the future
02:17of the school's leadership and what impact this will have on students and others at the
02:23school remains to be seen, Joe.