|
|
Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
|
Mary Wilson More now on the case of the teacher
charged with rape whose case was thrown out in the Wellington District Court
today. The 43 year old whose name has been permanently suppressed was facing
five charges including two of raping a 7 year old pupil ten years ago. The
judge said in the case he was a victim of a young girl's make believe. On the
line now is the President of the Primary Teachers Union, NZEI, Irene Cooper.
Good evening. Irene Cooper Good evening Mary Wilson A pretty shocking case. Very rare for
a judge to make a move like this. The girls said she was Assaulted in a corridor: Other
people would have seen this; ssaulted in a room in a classroom:
There was no such area; Assaulted on a day that a student
teacher was there: Would have seen something happening. Irene Cooper That's correct. What NZEI would say is
that there have got to be processes for children to disclose, but equally
there have gote to be processes to protect the welfare and reputation of
teachers, particularly when the allegations appear to have very little merit. Mary Wilson But do you think the teacher's
interests in this case were protected enough? Irene Cooper Probably not. I think it's a pity that
the case was taken to Court. I think if the case had been taken to the
Teachers Council there could have been an investigation at a lower level that
would have resulted in it not needing to go to court. It was a decision of
the police, not a decision of the Teaching Union Mary Wilson And so the teachers professional
bodies has nothing to do with this then? Irene Cooper You would have to ask them for that but
that's the other avenue that is open in terms of complaints against teachers. Mary Wilson Again it does seem extraordinary that
it could have gone this far and that maybe we need to think about other
methods to provide more protection to teachers? Irene Cooper I think we do, and I that this just
points out - But in fact it's a relatively isolated incident - but we do have
to point out that accusations came out of left field and they came out of
history. And they have to be dealt with, and they have to be dealt with in a
fair manner. What we have to do and think we have by permanent name
suppression and protect the interests of the teacher, and protect the
interests of his family and protect the interests of his school in which he
wishes to resume his employment. What you can't do is account for the damage
to the psyche of someone who has been accused like this and is now about to
go back to work and try to develop responsible and respectful relationship
with pupils. Mary Wilson And he will probably rarely never want
to go near pupils again Irene Cooper Absolutely Mary Wilson And a message that this sends to other
particularly male teachers. I Think in this particular case the suspended
teacher has spoken of the level of interest from his other male teacher
colleagues. Irene Cooper That’s right, and I think what we say
in the profession if you go into a profession with fear then you can't
actually teach. You have to go into a profession with confidence about being
a professional and with the knowledge about how to act in certain situations.
When this kind of thing happens it has to be dealt with. Unfortunately in
this case the teacher has been exonerated and a person has been put through a
whole lot of stress Mary Wilson And the message to other teachers is
that you can do everything right but still end up in court because you are a
victim of a child's make believe. Irene Cooper Absolutely Mary Wilson So, what do you see as the answer to
try and stop this from happening? Irene Cooper I think it's in the process and I think
full marks to a judge for not allowing the court case to proceed, and I'd
have to ask questions in this case about the robustness of the case and why
it got this far, but that’s not a professional process. That's the police
process Mary Wilson But what could be done for the teacher
by the professional bodies involved in teaching perhaps? Irene Cooper Well at this stage the only thing that
could happen is counseling. I mean the NZEI has supported this member through
with legal assistance, with counseling and support but it doesn't prevent the
psychological damage, particularly when there is no substance to it and we've
done as much as we can. We cannot prevent people from making accusations.
What we can ask for is fair process. And we would say that the first process
would be a process through the professional body, rather than a process
through a court where there wasn't very clear evidence that there was a case
to answer. Mary Wilson So when does the discussion have to
take place with the police then? How would that work? Irene Cooper Depends what the reporting process is.
But I think maybe the Teachers Council and the police need to have some good
understanding about how that process should work. Mary Wilson So somebody comes forward and says
this happened to me, and in this case it was an historical claim. What do you
think the next process should be once the police are contacted perhaps by the
former student's family. What should happen after that? Irene Cooper There has to be an investigation. It's
a question of who does the investigation and the level of the
investigation. And that's a judgment
call on the part of whoever receives the complaint. Now I am saying that
there needs probably some work done
around boundaries there. And some agreed understanding. However I think no
matter what you do some things are going to get through into the court and
they're going to be dealt with and what we see here is that the judge has
made a decision that this was not robust enough to be proceeded with and
that's unfortunate for the teacher who now really becomes a victim of the
case Mary Wilson But do the police as a matter of
course contact the Teachers Council when these things come up. Irene Cooper I can't answer that for you. You would
need to ask the professional body and the police what their processes are. Mary Wilson But do you think that would be a good
idea? Irene Cooper I think it's useful Mary Wilson And do you think professional body - a
teachers professional body - would be able to assess better than the police
about the validity of claims Irene Cooper I think if the professional body has
got the capability to complete investigations at a lower level and then
complete investigations at a higher level. I think what we shouldn't have is
two processes tripping each other up and I think that needs to be determined
how that will work. Mary Wilson So what do you think needs to happen
happen now? Some discussions with the police? Irene Cooper I certainly think there are some
questions to be asked about why this proceeded as it did. Mary Wilson Thanks very much for your time. That’s
Irene Cooper. She's the President of the Primary Teachers Union |
