Former Tasmanian teacher Darrel George Harington is a convicted paedophile who was protected by the Tasmanian Government and the CSIRO for decades, despite widespread allegations of sexual abuse.
In 2020, it was publicly revealed that the Tasmanian Department of Education had received numerous complaints about Harington dating back decades and had responded by transferring him to a number of different schools. Despite leaving a trail of victims throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s, Harington continued to teach right up until 2002.
Harington first faced criminal charges for child sexual abuse in 1973, the same year he first became a teacher. He was acquitted of these charges after convincing the court that police had intimidated him into confessing. He was transferred from Clarence High School to Hobart Matriculation College in June 1973 and subsequently taught at New Town High School and Campania District School.
In 1985, he faced a second set of criminal charges but was again acquitted by the Tasmanian Supreme Court.
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It took a group of concerned parents writing to the Department of Education to prevent Harington’s return to Campania after the second criminal case. The Department then seconded Harington to work for the CSIRO, where he remained until 2000. He remained a Department employee during these years, working as an educational officer running a science group called the ‘Double Helix Club’ before later being promoted to the position of Science Centre manager.
Within a year at the CSIRO, concerns were already being raised with the Department about Harington, yet he continued in the role for a further 14 years. During this time, a string of further concerns was raised by colleagues and the general public, including accusations that Harington roamed around the Hobart Aquatic Centre naked and was masturbating in the shower areas.
After further abuse allegations around 2000, the CSIRO transferred Harington out of the Science Centre, openly discussing with Harington how they could hide the real reason for the move and ‘explain your move to a school to others outside this centre’.
Harington was then placed at Rosetta High School and Ogilvie High School; Ogilvie was specifically chosen by the Department because it was an all-girls school, and they believed it would restrict his access to male students.
In the end, it took the Teacher Registration Board to get Harington out of Tasmanian schools by refusing to renew his registration as a teacher for 2003. In 2015 he was finally brought to justice for some of his crimes when he was convicted of molesting nine boys between 1978-2013, all aged 12-15. Many of these victims were from New Town High School and the CSIRO. He was eventually sentenced to 12 years imprisonment.
In 2020, he was found guilty of three further offences; two counts of indecent assault and one count of maintaining a sexual relationship with a young person.
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Feature Image: ABC News
