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Robert Doyle: Allegations from former Geelong College students referred to police

Two former school students made allegations of "questionable behaviour" against Robert Doyle.

Two former school students made allegations of "questionable behaviour" against Robert Doyle. Photo: Getty

Further allegations against former Melbourne lord mayor Robert Doyle have come to light, this time from two former pupils.

Geelong College referred allegations of “questionable behaviour” to Victoria Police in December 2015, the school confirmed on Thursday.

The allegations were made by two former students, in relation to Mr Doyle’s time as a teacher at the school in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

The school referred the complaints to Victoria Police’s child exploitation Sano Taskforce, but a police spokesperson said the taskforce had not investigated the matter.

Mr Doyle’s lawyer Nick Ruskin, from K&L Gates, said he was unaware of the allegations.

“We are completely unaware of this matter and have received no information about it. Our client remains in hospital,” a spokesperson for Mr Ruskin told The New Daily.

“The school does not intend to conduct its own investigation,” the principal told The New Daily in a statement on Thursday.

Principal Peter Miller said the two students had phoned Geelong College’s independent facilitator, “informing us of their personal experiences of questionable behaviour by Robert Doyle while he was a teacher at the school”.

Two former students from Geelong College made the allegations, relating to when Robert Doyle was a teacher at the school in the 1970s and '80s.

Two former students from Geelong College made the allegations, relating to Robert Doyle’s time as a teacher at the school in the 1970s and ’80s. Photo: Google Maps

“Geelong College’s key concern is about the wellbeing of current and former students and we will continue to support and care for the students that came forward,” Dr Miller said.

Mr Doyle, 64, formally resigned from City of Melbourne on Monday following a seven-week independent investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct at council.

He has denied all allegations.

Mr Doyle claimed through his lawyer that the investigation, led by Dr Ian Freckelton QC, denied him the presumption of innocence.

City of Melbourne CEO Ben Rimmer rejected the claim. He said he aimed to make the final report public on its completion.

Mr Doyle received a draft report last Tuesday, before Mr Rimmer announced the then-lord mayor was suffering “serious ill health”.

Announcing his resignation on Sunday, his wife Emma Page Campbell said Mr Doyle needed “time to heal, physically and mentally”.

“I have watched one of the strongest men I know brought to the brink of being broken,” she said in a statement released through a publicist hired by Mr Doyle.

Mr Ruskin on Sunday said Mr Doyle’s recovery in hospital “may be a lengthy process”.

The department of health opened its own investigation following allegations he sexually harassed a woman at Melbourne Health.

Mr Doyle has also resigned from his position as chair of Melbourne Health.

One of his accusers, Councillor Cathy Oke, on Tuesday choked back tears while revealing her “frustration” that Dr Freckelton’s report was not yet completed.

“This is not about politics, this is about people,” she told a public City of Melbourne committee meeting.

Former councillor Tessa Sullivan triggered a tide of allegations when she resigned from council in December, levelling sexual misconduct allegations against the then-lord mayor.

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