I was charmed by a respected school principal. I’m devastated to discover his evil secret

February 22, 2026 — 3:38pm

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I met Richard Barren a few times while he was the principal of Langwarrin Park Primary School, in Melbourne’s south-east. He was gregarious, enthusiastic, professional and proud of his school.

I particularly noticed the fondness with which he spoke about his students. I raked through my old meeting notes and found I’d written the words “potential” and “full of possibilities” as being how Barren described the children in his school.

Last week, Barren was sentenced to effectively three paltry months of prison time for having some of the most disgusting child abuse material on his phone that anyone – let alone a school principal – might have.

And, despite more than three decades of working with teachers and teaching myself, collaborating with principals and also being one – my meetings with Barren didn’t raise a single red flag. I admit to being both confused and ashamed about that.

The meek and feeble nature of the Barren sentence has landed with incredulity on many of the school’s parents. They’re rightly confounded that a man afforded the trust of being a safe figure in the entire community’s eye could have betrayed them........

© The Age