Freyberg High teacher struck off over groping
A former Tall Black and secondary school teacher who laughed after indecently assaulting a student will face no sanction from his profession apart from having his certificate cancelled.
Kent Lewis Mori was sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday to two months’ community detention, 100 hours’ community work and supervision for nine months for the 2018 assault.
The crime happened at Palmerston North’s Freyberg High School, where he was a PE teacher, against a student.
He offered to give the student a massage after a gym session, during which he committed the indecent assault.
A Teaching Council spokeswoman told Stuff yesterday Mori had his practicing certificate cancelled when the council learned he had pleaded guilty. She said that was the most serious action it could take.
‘‘Our case on him is now closed.’’
The next step after a teacher had their certificate cancelled in the same way as Mori was considered on a case-by-case basis, she said.
Often, there was no further action, but there were times when there would be complaints unrelated to the teacher’s criminal conviction that could warrant further investigation, she said.
Freyberg High School referred questions to its board of trustees chairman Tangi Utikere, who sent Stuff a statement yesterday evening.
‘‘Our school has very high expectations regarding the conduct of staff, supported by the clearly articulated professional standards [or] code for all teachers laid out by the Teaching Council.’’
‘‘As soon as the school became aware of the concerns, the staff member was placed on leave, and then subsequently resigned. The school undertook its mandatory reporting requirements to the Teaching Council and informed the Ministry of Education. At all times we sought advice to ensure that we handled this in line with best practice.’’
Utikere said until court suppression orders were lifted this week, the school was unable to tell students, staff and parents what had happened.
Mori played basketball for New Zealand in the 1990s and was a long-time player for the Palmerston North rep team. He also represented Manawatu¯ in cricket.