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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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A Wellington teacher
accused of sex crimes against a seven-year-old pupil will remain anonymous at
least till trial, a High Court judge has ruled. The teacher faces two
charges of rape, one of unlawful sexual connection and one of assaulting a
child. All charges relate to incidents alleged to have happened between
January and July 1996. A district court judge refused to suppress the man's
name, but a High Court judge overturned that decision this week, granting
suppression till trial. The man is working but not as a teacher. Justice Alan MacKenzie
said the man's current job did not raise any risk of offending. Publishing
his name on grounds it might bring other complaints could not be justified. Only one complaint had
been lodged so far and police had spoken to other children in the man's class
at the time of the alleged offending, without uncovering other allegations. The precarious mental
state of the man's wife, and a medical opinion that publication would
aggravate her condition, was also a "significant" factor favouring
continued suppression, the judge said. |
