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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Parents and the public
are entitled to know the name of a Wellington teacher awaiting trial on sex
charges, a Crown lawyer says. The teacher has
appealed against a District Court judge's decision refusing to suppress his
name. He was still working but not teaching or having contact with children's
sports teams, his lawyer Paul Paino, told Justice Alan MacKenzie in the High
Court at Wellington yesterday. However, Crown lawyer
Claire Boshier said parents and the public were entitled to know who the man
was, and to be able to assess the risk, before and after his trial. She said
he had links in a number of ways to primary school-aged children. Mr Paino said the District
Court judge who refused suppression had given no weight to the man's job
prospects in the event that he was acquitted of the charges, but too much
weight to the possibility that publication of his name might prompt other
complaints against him. A wide-scale police
investigation had found nothing to support the suggestion that further
complaints would be made, Mr Paino said. The man is due to stand
trial in Wellington District Court in about four months accused of sexually
violating a seven-year-old girl in 1996. The man said he had
been falsely accused and wanted the chance to defend himself, Mr Paino said. Medical evidence was
given to the court to support the claim that his arrest had devastated his
wife and family. It would only be after
trial, and verdict, that a judge would be in a position to decide the
suppression issue, based on all the circumstances, Mr Paino said. Justice MacKenzie
reserved his decision on the appeal. Suppression continues in the meantime. |
