A Melbourne private school teacher who told a 17-year-old schoolgirl he was "feeling horny" and wanted to sleep with her has been suspended for just six months.
Yukihiro Nagashima, a former teacher at Beaconhills College in Pakenham, confessed to sending inappropriate Facebook messages to a student at a Japanese sister school in September 2015.
He was also accused of asking the student to send a photo of herself masturbating – an allegation he denied but one which was substantiated by the Victorian Institute of Teaching.
In a decision published this week, the teaching watchdog said Mr Nagashima, "on his own admission, compromised and violated his professional relationship with the student".
"He did so by using a social media messaging service to engage her in a conversation of a personal and inappropriate nature, in an unprofessional manner and without a valid context; and, during the course of the conversation used sexual innuendo when he told the student: 'I want to sleep with you'; and 'I'm feeling horny'."
The schoolgirl said Mr Nagashima reached out to her on Facebook to ask about flood damage following a typhoon but then sent a message that "offended her, made her feel embarrassed and scared".
Mr Nagashima had  met the girl the previous year, when he visited the Japanese sister school with students from Beaconhills College.
The teenager said she reported the message to her teacher because she was afraid of what Mr Nagashima might do on his next visit.
This teacher asked her to print screenshots of the "troubling" messages, then translated them into English and forwarded them to Beaconhills.
A teacher who questioned Mr Nagashima about the messages said Mr Nagashima initially claimed he had been hacked, and then said he had been drinking. Mr Nagashima denied saying this.
Mr Nagashima resigned from the school on September 22, 2015 during the watchdog's investigation
He wrote a letter to the school expressing his "deepest regrets and sincerest apologies for his misconduct".
"It was not his intention to create such an awkward, embarrassing and uncomfortable situation," he wrote.
Mr Nagashima maintains that some parts of his messages to the girl were altered but admitted telling the student that he wanted to sleep with her and was getting horny.
"He expressed his preferred translation of the word 'horny' was 'aroused or excited'," the decision said.
The teaching watchdog found Mr Nagashima guilty of serious misconduct, but did not cancel his registration.
His registration was instead suspended until February and he was ordered to attend at least four sessions with a psychologist, and write a report into why his conduct was inappropriate and how he would stop it from happening again..
"Suspension for a period of time is a significant sanction," the decision said. "It sends a powerful message to the profession. It serves as a strong deterrent."
Earlier this month Education Minister James Merlino ordered a review of the teaching watchdog following a series of controversial rulings.
It has come under fire from the minister and parents for giving the green light to a teacher who told his students stories about incest and another who pleaded guilty to a sex crime.
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