Boys f ilm teacher’s sex ordeal

A teacher who was sexually harassed by students at an Upper Hutt school has revealed the boys who filmed up her skirt had more nefarious plans.

Former St Patrick’s College, Silverstream teacher aide Hester Tingey, 23, has spoken publicly for the first time about the 2017 incident that saw four year 9 boys suspended, and the two female victims resign.

In an Ant-works Studios video for a Netsafe campaign, Tingey described how the students put camera phones in their shoes or jackets on the ground, then got female staff to step over them. ‘‘They were pretty organised.’’ The footage was shared to a private group on social media app Instagram. ‘‘The intention behind it was to gain as many up-skirt photos of female staff members from the school.’’ Two days after Tingey was secretly filmed, another female staff member fell victim to the same trick.

Four year 9 boys were suspended from the school in March 2017 after filming the teachers inappropriately, in a case the school described at the time as ‘‘most distressing’’.

Tingey said she blamed herself and her outfit choice in the weeks following the incident, even though she knew she had not done anything to encourage the boys’ behaviour.

‘‘I took my grandmother out shopping with me before I got the job and we picked out a whole bunch of stuff that was approved by an Anglican minister. I only wore a dress on two occasions – one was the powhiri and the other was the day it happened.’’