Three staff at St Kevin’s College in Melbourne have left the top Catholic school, which is under pressure over its handling of sexual misconduct allegations.

Luke Travers, the school’s dean of sports, was stood down on Wednesday after the ABC’s Four Corners revealed he gave an employment reference and character evidence for convicted child sex offender Peter Kehoe.

In a letter to parents on Saturday, acting principal John Crowley said Mr Travers’ employment had come to an end, as well as that of two other teachers.

Mr Crowley did not give a reason as to why the three staff members had left the school but said more information would be provided in the coming days.

Mr Crowley replaced headmaster Stephen Russell after he resigned earlier this week.

In 2015, Mr Russell wrote a character reference for former coach Kehoe, which was given to the magistrate after Kehoe’s conviction for grooming a St Kevin’s student, but did not support the victim during the court process.

In a letter on Wednesday, Mr Russell said that to prioritise the wellbeing of the school and students in the current situation, his best option was to resign.

“In my time at St Kevin’s I have always tried to put the school before self and the students’ wellbeing at the very top of my list of priorities. I believe the current situation means that the best way to achieve this is to resign,” Mr Russell’s letter said.

Mr Travers also gave character evidence for Kehoe at the trial.

Kehoe was sentenced to a community corrections order and placed on the sex offenders register for eight years.