Teacher ‘let down’ by system

AUCKLAND: The teacher who was cleared of indecently assaulting three schoolgirls has spoken of how he felt let down by the system as his life went into ‘‘total meltdown’’.

The teacher may never return to a classroom after his ‘‘year of hell’’.

‘‘I don’t think I could ever trust the system of education, BOT governance, school hierarchical support or the devious nature of some children to go back into a classroom,’’ he said.

He cannot be named under law, but said while the trial played out last month he had no faith in the outcome until he heard the last not guilty verdict read out in court.

The teacher, who taught at an Auckland intermediate school, was alleged to have indecently touched the complainants between May 2016 and March 2017 when they were about 11, Fairfax reported.

Two of the complainants spoke of the alleged offending to another teacher on March 23, 2017. The school undertook an official investigation and the police became involved.

However, the pupils admitted under crossexamination in court they fabricated the story because the teacher yelled at them in class.

A boy, who initially claimed he witnessed the indecent acts — which included alleged stroking of the girls’ hair and grabbing their breasts — admitted there had been a plan to make up stories after the teacher had told them off during class for misbehaving and being disrespectful.

Teaching is a ‘‘minefield for males’’ and they ‘‘all live in dread of accusations’’ like this, the man said.

‘‘The termination of my employment, with little investigation of the accusations, was hurtful, totally destroying my faith in the supportive environment of a school and the legal system.

‘‘Only through the support of colleagues, friends and family was I able to continue with the semblance of a ‘normal’ life.’’

Because of the police investigation he had been unable to get a job, as potential employers wanted to wait for the findings of the trial, he said.

He found it ‘‘tremendously difficult’’ to go outside during that time, feeling that he had been branded a child molester.

After a sixday trial in the Auckland District Court, the jury took less than an hour to return not guilty verdicts on all seven charges on March 12.

‘‘When the verdict was announced I was stunned, relieved and angry that my elderly parents, family and friends had to go through the trauma of a year of hell,’’ the teacher said.

Counsel Marc Corlett QC said this week that during the trial, the court heard evidence that there had been a plan among some of the pupils to get the teacher fired.

Mr Corlett said his client had been utterly devastated by the allegations.

‘‘He is a career teacher. He has done nothing but teach.

‘‘He was expecting to continue in that profession, a profession, I might add, in which there are increasingly few male teachers.

‘‘The reality is it will be extremely difficult if not impossible for him to teach again.’’

‘‘Any job he applies for now he will have to disclose that these charges were laid against him, even though it was disproved in court,’’ Mr Corlett said.

His client had been in a state of shock since the allegations were made against him.

Mr Corlett said he was surprised the case had been taken to trial, calling it a ‘‘dereliction of duty’’ by police.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard said it was important that police took allegations of indecent assault against any person seriously, especially those involving children.

‘‘Allegations of this nature can be timeconsuming and complex to investigate,’’ he said.

Crown Solicitor Brian Dickey said the case was ‘‘appropriately conducted in accordance with criminal procedure law’’. — NZME