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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse in NZ |
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An Auckland primary and
intermediate teacher died suddenly while facing charges alleging he sexually
violated a pupil at a school where he was principal. A second person has
also told police that the teacher committed sexual offences against him. An order suppressing
Colin Salisbury-Smith's name was lifted last month after an application by
the New Zealand Herald. When he died, Mr
Salisbury-Smith, 56, was sharing a house with a 19-year-old male former pupil
of the school where he was teaching. Police are satisfied
there were no suspicious circumstances related to his death and have referred
the case to the coroner. He faced five charges
relating to a complaint by a former pupil of Brookby School, on Auckland's
rural fringe southeast of the city. The pupil alleges he was molested during
1995 when Mr Salisbury-Smith was the principal and he was aged 10 and 11. The most serious
charges carried maximum penalties of 20 years' jail. Mr Salisbury-Smith died
on May 16 after a court appearance on the charges. On that day he had learned
that a second person had made allegations to police. The second man alleges
he was abused when aged about 12 by Mr Salisbury-Smith, who was his teacher
at Hiona Intermediate, Masterton, during the 1970s. Those close to Mr
Salisbury-Smith said he was dumbfounded and distraught. He was a popular figure
at schools where he taught and in the social circles in which he mixed. He
ran the Miss Counties-Manukau beauty pageant from 1995-2000 and was a
part-time actor who appeared in the television soap Shortland Street and in
the film The Sinking of the Rainbow Warrior. He was teaching at a
school in South Auckland until suspended when charged by police 12 days
before his death. The school has not told pupils that he faced charges. Police had earlier
unsuccessfully asked the court to lift name suppression because of the
prospect there might be other complainants. The principal said
there was no intention to inform pupils of the charges even though name
suppression had been lifted. "We would
certainly not wish to do that. It's traumatic for the staff. The staff were
devastated... Their responses were ones we just could not predict. We used
the (Education Ministry's) Critical Incident Team to support staff as much as
(students)," the principal said. "My feeling is
that they would not want (pupils told of the charges) as it would open the
whole issue up again." He said pupils were
informed at the time that Mr Salisbury-Smith had died and were offered
counselling but no comment was made about the circumstances. The complainant in the
case before the court told the Weekend Herald that Mr Salisbury-Smith's death
left him feeling "a little bit mad, because he got out of it so
easy". "Everyone is going
to think of him as the nice guy he seemed to be." Police withdrew the
charges against Mr Salisbury-Smith after his death, but have said they would
take statements if anyone else came forward with allegations against him. However, Mr
Salisbury-Smith's family and some friends say they do not believe he was
guilty of the things he was accused of. They said it was
galling that he had dedicated his life to children and yet had been brought
down by the allegations against him. Mr Salisbury-Smith's
niece, Trish Harrison, said he was "really soft in his heart". "He would give
somebody the shirt off his back if they needed it." Ms Harrison said she
believed some of Mr Salisbury-Smith's interactions with children may have
been misconstrued and she was frustrated there cannot now be a trial to clear
his name. "He was a fabulous
guy and it's just a bloody waste to see it end like that." |
