Updated ,first published
Relieved parents gasped and burst into tears when a primary school teacher accused of filming young pupils in the school toilets was denied bail.
Timothy Blamires appeared via video link at Moorabbin Magistrates’ Court on Friday, as parents from Kingswood Primary School packed the small courtroom for the bail decision.
The 33-year-old is charged with five offences, including producing child abuse material and installing a spy cam without consent.
Speaking outside the court following the hearing, one mother said it had been extremely difficult to sit through.
“I think I was the first one to break down in the courtroom. It was extremely difficult but, I needed to see it,” she said.
“I just needed to be here … just to be able to process this whole situation.”
Blamires was arrested at Kingswood Primary School at Dingley Village on Tuesday after a cleaner uncovered a hidden camera that had been placed inside an air freshener on the wall of the boys’ toilets.
Following the discovery, the device was secured in the principal’s office and police were alerted, according to court documents.
It is alleged that before police arrived, Blamires went into the principal’s office, took the device and hid it in another room before returning to his classroom to teach his year 3 students.
According to court documents, a witness said Blamires was the only person to enter the office in the 10-minute window when the camera was put in the office, and before it was moved.
The device was allegedly found concealed in the school’s sick bay later that evening. Police also found an empty air freshener container in Blamires’ backpack, which was found in his classroom, according to the documents.
Magistrate Timothy Gattuso closed the court for more than an hour to hear additional evidence from detectives before making his decision on whether to grant the teacher bail on Friday afternoon.
Prosecutors argued there was a risk of further harm to the public, particularly to children, if he was granted bail and that he could potentially destroy evidence if he had access to the internet.
The magistrate said the “overt action” of moving the spy cam into another room gave credit to the concerns of detectives.
“The new evidence adds credence to the concern regarding destruction of evidence and the existence of further material,” Gattuso said.
He also noted that police had seized other devices from Blamires’ home and school on the day he was arrested, but were unable to unlock some of them.
“Some of the passwords you gave … were not successful in enabling access [to those devices],” Gattuso told the court.
It was also unclear who the victims were, the magistrate said.
Footage from the device captured the teacher setting up the device, and showed it was pointed at the boys’ urinals and captured a number of children’s genitalia.
The magistrate said there was also the possibility of additional charges and there may be “jurisdictional issues”, but the existing charges were already serious.
Blamires’ brother offered to provide a $50,000 surety, to have the 33-year-old live with him and to stop the teacher from accessing the internet, use smartphones or other devices. However, Gattuso said this would be nearly impossible to enforce.
The court heard the primary school teacher had no previous convictions, and this was the first time he was ever involved in police matters.
In refusing bail, Gattuso said the risk was unacceptable in light of harm to the community – particularly to children – and because of his failure to provide passwords.
Outside the court, a couple who asked not to share their names, said families from the school were talking to each other and offering support to one another.
“I feel there’s a real lack of control … you want to protect your kids, and it feels like we haven’t been able to do that,” one father said.
He added that they wanted to show support to all the families who may be affected, and was thankful the children don’t understand the full implications of what occurred.
“I think as best as we can as parents we should try to protect that innocence and naivety as long as we can, is everyone’s main goal,” he said.
“Hopefully, they can be happy kids and get back to just regular life at school with their friends and not have to worry or stress about these things.”
Another parent said the allegations against Blamires were “pretty disgusting”, but they were satisfied he wasn’t granted bail.
A Department of Education spokesperson said support is available for students and staff.
“We’re working closely with Kingswood Primary School and Victoria Police to respond to this matter, which is deeply distressing for the school community,” the spokesman said.
Blamires will return to court later this month, and has been suspended by the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
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Caroline Schelle is an education reporter, and joined The Age in 2022. She previously covered courts at AAP.Connect via X or email.