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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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The President of the
Principals Federation says the weak case against a Wellington teacher accused
of raping a former pupil highlights why men are reluctant to enter the
profession. The 43-year-old man was
facing five charges, including two of raping a seven-year-old pupil 10 years
ago and physically assaulting her. Wellington district
court judge Bruce Davidson discharged the man on Friday before the case went
to the jury for consideration because of the implausibility of the
complainant. Federation president
Pat Newman says he can not then understand why the case even went to trial.
He says charges like this make teaching seem an unsafe career for men to
enter. Newman says such cases
make many male teachers anxious about what is going to "come out of the
woodwork" at a later date. Criminal law expert
Scott Optican says the judge's discharging of a teacher on trial for historic
sex offences is rare, but right. A teacher acquitted of
indecent assault three years ago says the Wellington case shows the critical
importance of name suppression. Horowhenua teacher Mike
Neville was found not guilty three years ago of four counts of indecently
assaulting four pupils under the age of 12. He says his name was
released in public following the allegations against him, and throughout the
court process it felt like his name was everywhere. He says in such cases
names should not be released until there is a verdict. Neville says because
the Wellington teacher had name suppression, he can get back to normal life
now that the case is over. However, police are
standing by their decision to prosecute, saying the matter was carefully and
thoroughly investigated before it went to trial. Detective Sergeant
Glenn Williams says there was medical evidence and the defence had conceded
at a preliminary hearing that there was a case to answer. |
