Maths tutor fired after asking if girl, 14, wanted to be seen as ‘sex object’

A maths tutor who asked a 14-year-old female student whether she wanted to be seen as a “sex object” has been dismissed from his job after a fair work umpire ruled his actions were unacceptable. The incident occurred in November 2025, involving Sydney-based tutor Evangelos Benetatos, who worked for the tutoring company Maths Words not Squiggles. The case came before the Australian Fair Work Commission, where the tutor's conduct was deemed inappropriate and led to his termination. Benetatos described the situation as occurring during a tutoring session at the company’s Rosebery centre. He was working with two students when another student unexpectedly entered the room. According to Benetatos, he turned around and saw one of his former students standing near the bookshelves, approximately 1.5 metres from the entrance. He claimed she was “caressing a text” and moving it in and out of the bookshelf for about three seconds. Additionally, he noted that the student was wearing sports shorts that were “lifted very high above her hips” in a manner he described as impractical for sitting or walking. Benetatos reportedly called the student’s presence “inappropriate, inappropriate.” The student, who had entered the room to retrieve a textbook, responded that she had come in to pick it up. Benetatos repeated the word “inappropriate” twice more before asking her, “Do you want to be seen to be a sex object in the yard?” He then told the student that she should not be viewed as such by students, teachers, or tutors, adding that her behavior was provocative enough to warrant his comment. The student, according to Benetatos, took the book out of the room with a look indicating “mild surprise.” He then told the other students present that this was “why they have school uniforms at school.” One of the students in the room remarked that students often wore sports shorts, prompting Benetatos to respond that “if you go swimming at school, you do not wear your swimwear to class.” The student’s mother provided a statement on behalf of her daughter, explaining that the student had briefly entered the room because she had left her maths textbook at school and needed to take photos of several pages from another student’s copy to complete her homework. She said that the tutor had given her permission to do so. While the student was taking photographs, the tutor turned to her and asked, “Do you want to be a sex object?” The student, visibly confused and shocked, responded, “What?” According to the mother, the tutor then repeated the phrase multiple times, saying, “You are going to turn into a sex object” and “I’m so disappointed.” The mother described the student’s clothing as “average-length” shorts and a hoodie, stating that her outfit was casual and appropriate. She emphasized that while attire might be a factor, it could not justify or excuse sexualized remarks directed at a young teenager. She further noted that the repeated comments caused the student to experience distress, leading to symptoms consistent with a panic attack, including rapid heartbeat, shortness of breath, and shaking. The student felt embarrassed, humiliated, and unsafe as a result of the interaction. Following the incident, the student’s mother filed a complaint with the tutoring centre. The principal and founder of the centre met with both the mother and the tutor, providing him with CCTV footage of the encounter. However, the footage lacked audio, making it impossible to determine the exact words spoken by the tutor. Commissioner Damian Sloan noted that the student’s conduct was consistent with the account provided by her mother. He concluded that there was nothing unusual about the student’s appearance, neither in terms of the length of her shorts nor how they were worn. Furthermore, the student did not approach the bookcase, let alone engage in the activity Benetatos described.