Shock: Principal of Alice Springs Indigenous School ARRESTED for allegedly abusing children after they ‘came into a room and smeared paint everywhere’

The principal of an Indigenous school in the Northern Territory has been accused of physically abusing several children.

Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris has been arrested by Northern Territory police and is being held at the Alice Springs guardhouse, reports The Australian.

It is understood Northern Territory Premier Eva Lawler has been informed of the allegations, which are not sexual in nature, by Education Minister Mark Monaghan.

According to a school staff member, police were investigating an incident two years ago in which children vandalized a building used for childcare.

“The children entered through an unlocked door and smeared the whole place with paint,” the employee said.

“They didn’t break any windows, the door wasn’t locked and they worked their way in. They had a great time.”

The “shocked” employee said they had heard the arrest was a result of that incident and they “couldn’t believe it.”

Mr Morris, who has a PhD in Aboriginal trauma and teaches at Charles Darwin University, has previously spoken out in the media about the crisis facing Aboriginal children in remote communities.

Yipirinya School principal Gavin Morris (pictured) is accused of assaulting children over an incident in which they allegedly vandalised a school building

Mr Morris said the school is in regular contact with local magistrates, allowing bail conditions to be adjusted for children aged 12 and over who wish to take part in after-school programmes.

He described female students who did not feel safe enough to go home because “they were worried about their uncles,” so they would wander the streets of Alice Springs at night unsupervised.

Others had spoken to him and said they would rather be in juvenile detention because it was better than their home situation, he said.

He recounted an incident where teachers called him at night and said they were following a school bus in their cars that had been stolen by a group of students and were going for a ride.

Footage from the August 2022 incident shows Yipirinya’s school bus ramming through the gate at 9pm and speeding away into the streets of Alice Springs, chased by teachers.

Mr Morris previously spoke about an incident where a minibus from Yipirinya School was stolen by children who were taking it for a ride (pictured)

The chase ended with the schoolchildren jumping out of the vehicle and running away, and police have made no arrests.

There were 10 students on board, the driver was 12 years old and the oldest in the vehicle was 14.

The bus drove through the streets as teachers flashed their headlights and honked, yelling at them to stop.

“You little shit… stop!” a teacher shouted in frustration.

At several points the bus veered to the wrong side of the road and skidded off the road with screeching tires.

The chase ended when the children jumped out of the bus while it was still driving outside a native camp.

They then jumped over fences and ran in opposite directions to avoid being caught.

The children returned to school the next day after the bus was written off and no one was charged.

According to Morris, part of the $300 million Anthony Albanese has pledged to support communities in the region will be used to build a shelter where at-risk children can have a stable home life.

He said many children face family situations where there is no adequate supervision, food and financial security, coupled with domestic violence and persistent alcohol problems.