Teacher ‘snapped’ before knife attack

“An IT teacher has been sentenced to 15 months in gaol after attacking his principal with two knives. Kim Ramchen, 37, was arrested on December 2 last year after Keysborough Secondary College staff managed to restrain him following a knife attack on principal Aaron Sykes. He has been sentenced to 15 months in jail. Earlier this month, Mr Ramchen appeared in the Dandenong Magistrates Court where pleas of guilty were formally taken on charges of intentionally causing injury, assault with a weapon and unlawful assault. Outlining the events on December 2, prosecutor J.J. Jassar said Mr Ramchen left his classroom shortly after marking the roll at 3pm and making his way to a kitchen in the administration office where he obtained a four-inch knife. Without speaking, the court was told Mr Ramchen entered Mr Sykes’ office and pointed the knife at his boss. “Kim, what is going on?” the principal said before Mr Ramchen attacked him with the blade. Mr Jassar said shouts for help drew the attention of other school staff who found Mr Ramchen “standing over Sykes swinging the knife”. Mr Ramchen was pulled off Mr Sykes and then left the room, with the school going into lockdown over fears he may have returned to the campus. Later, Mr Ramchen returned to the office with a larger chef’s knife, Mr Jassar said, and began attacking Mr Sykes again. Kim Ramchen has been jailed for 15 months. Picture: Supplied. The court was told he was pulled off by assistant principal Matthew Sloan who managed to disarm the teacher and he was pinned down by a group of staff until police arrived. Mr Sykes was found to have a 2cm laceration to his neck, cuts to his left cheek and right forearm alongside multiple abrasions and bruises. In a police interview after his arrest, Mr Ramchen said he could not offer any explanation other than he became “incredibly, violently emotional and angry”. “He stated he ‘mentally snapped’ and ‘my blood just went to my head and I just became incredibly angry and emotional, incredibly, unbelievably angry’,” Mr Jassar said. The court was told Mr Sykes had not returned to work since the attack, which had impacted him “gravely”. Addressing the court, Mr Ramchen’s barrister Amelia Beech acknowledged the profound effect on the school community and said no excuses would be made. Ms Beech said her client’s life had been plagued by “substantial difficulties”, including a dysfunctional childhood, family tragedy, and difficulties in his adult life. “Despite the myriad of challenges, Mr Ramchen had never before behaved violently or aggressively in his life,” she said. The court was told he had since been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and recurrent depressive disorder with anxious distress. Ms Beech said her client was an highly intelligent person despite his challenges, who had completed a PhD before deciding his calling was to become a teacher. After 18 months in the role at Keysborough Secondary College, Ms Beech said Mr Ramchen had been told in September his contract would not be renewed and he began “spiralling”. The court was told his opioid drug use increased and felt “unsupported and alone”. In a psychiatric report, associate professor Danny Sullivan found Mr Ramchen became “increasingly preoccupied with the perception that he had been treated unjustly” and came to the conclusion Mr Sykes was nominally responsible. Dr Sullivan found Mr Ramchen’s mental health diagnoses were “causally connected” to his offending and his judgment was impaired, resulting in an “incapacity to think consequentially, logically or effectively”. Ms Beech argued her client’s 155 days in custody was enough and he should be sentenced to time served and placed on a community corrections order to receive structure and help in the community. During sentencing Deputy Chief Magistrate Tim Bourke said Mr Ramchen’s guilty plea had reduced his sentence by five months, but emphasised the seriousness of the offence. “Even more serious in the context of a school environment at 3pm, where children were on campus,” he said. “The offending has occurred in what should only ever be a safe place, not just for students, but co-workers and the broader school community.”

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