Teacher struck off after bond with student becomes clear

A teacher used social media and text messages to tell his 16-year-old student he loved her and to talk about sex.

He also delivered icecream to her house, lied to the school principal about their relationship, and drove her and her friend to a city 20 kilometres away to party without their parents’ knowledge.

He behaved in an ‘‘immature, selfserving way’’, a decision from the New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in Wellington in September last year says.

The teacher visited the student at her father’s house without her father’s knowledge.

He delivered her a two-litre tub of icecream to cheer her up after she fought with her parents, it says.

In September, she was staying with another school student when she texted him, asking him to come and get them.

About 11pm, he drove them both to a city 20km away.

He dropped the two girls off in the city at about 11.30pm, then he went and socialised with his own friends at his flat.

The student had told him that she and her friend would meet others in the city.

At about 2am, he picked up the students and returned them home – without their parents’ knowledge.

The relationship grew on social media, the hearing decision stated.

He first added the student on Instagram when he was completing reading logs with her and a group of students, during a lunchbreak.

Other students were around at the time, the decision says. The student later messaged the teacher to ask about the reading and other school work. The teacher didn’t see the harm in replying, the decision said.

However, their conversations became more ‘‘friend-based’’ via texts, Snapchat and Instagram.

He used the words ‘‘love’’ and ‘‘affection’’, and he texted ‘‘I love you’’ on at least one occasion, it says.

The principal heard rumours about the teacher and student’s Instagram connection in July 2016.

In July, the teacher lied to the principal, saying he had forgotten about the girl’s Instagram page.

Instead, he said it was part of an English class on the ‘‘forms of communication’’, the document says.

Confronted by the principal, the teacher admitted the allegations and was placed on special leave immediately. He resigned on September 26, 2016. A hearing document says the teacher taught at the high school from February 2015 until his resignation, and had signed an undertaking not to teach.

He had not previously taught at any other schools.

The tribunal found it suitable to censure the teacher and cancel his registration.

The teacher and the tribunal agreed that he had exploited his position.

It qualified as ‘‘serious misconduct’’, and was likely to adversely affect the wellbeing or learning of the student, the decision says.

It was also an inappropriate relationship, and was likely to bring discredit to the profession, it says.