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This page last updated Oct 26 2006
2006-0920 - NZ Herald -
Primary school teacher accused of rape wins $30,000
by Stuart Dye - Police investigating a rape claim against a primary school
teacher were "haphazard", failed to take obvious lines of inquiry,
made a premature arrest and were negligent, a judge has ruled… In
a rare move, Judge Bruce Davidson told the jury he was withdrawing the case
because of the implausibility of the complaint. And yesterday he awarded the teacher $30,000
costs. The police did not gather all the relevant material, he said, and what
they did have should have caused "significant alarm". "Put
bluntly, the police may well have thought twice about continuing with the
prosecution," Judge Davidson said.…….
2006-0919 - Dominion
Post - $30,000 for teacher discharged on rape
A judge
who says "significant resourcing problems" contributed to a
haphazard police investigation of a teacher accused of rape, has awarded the
teacher $30,000 towards his legal costs. In a judgment issued from Wellington
District Court yesterday, Judge Bruce Davidson said police and the Justice
Ministry should each pay the man $15,000. The award is $16,502 less than the
cost of defending the teacher. The Dominion Post understands a professional
organisation had paid the bill.
2006-0624 - One News - Male
teachers unfairly targeted
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. 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.
2006-0624 - Dominion Post -
Judge throws out teacher sex case
A judge has thrown out sex charges against a Wellington primary teacher,
saying he had found it "implausible, then unlikely and then
impossible" that offences had been committed…… Judge Davidson said that
as the trial went on he had found it "implausible, then unlikely and
then impossible" that the teacher could have committed the offences or
that the jury could convict him. He said that by the end of the defence case
it was clear it would be unsafe to let the jury deliberate and possibly
convict. Judge Davidson said any guilty verdict would be a miscarriage of
justice and no conviction could have been regarded as safe. The opportunity
for the teacher to have committed the offences was so limited as to make it
impossible.
2006-0623 - peterellis.org.nz
- Frivolous police prosecutions must stop
Judge Bruce Davidson should be congratulated for abruptly ending a trial
before there was any chance for a miscarriage of justice. A Wellington
teacher had been unnecessarily put through the pain and suffering of sex
abuse charges that should never have been brought. While sex abuse is a very
serious crime and should be treated seriously, this is no excuse for the
police to make charges frivolously
2006-0623 - One News - Teacher
rape case thrown out
There were emotional scenes in Wellington District Court on Friday, after a
Judge threw out the case of a teacher charged with rape. The 43-year-old man,
whose name has been permanently suppressed, was facing five charges including
two of raping a 7-year-old pupil 10 years ago. In a rare move, Judge Bruce
Davidson told the jury he was withdrawing the case from their consideration,
because it had become obvious to him that any guilty verdict would be wrong
given all the evidence
2006-0623 - NZ Herald - Judge
throws out teacher abuse case
NZPA - A judge has abruptly ended the trial of a teacher facing charges of
sexually abusing a young girl. ….. the judge today withdrew the case from the
jury. He said it was impossible for the jury to convict the man and if they
had convicted it would have been wrong and a miscarriage of justice.
2006-0623 -
National Radio: Checkpoint - Rape Case thrown out (Part 2)
Mary Wilson interviews Irene Cooper, President of NZEI - Irene Cooper: "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"
2006-0623 - National
Radio: Checkpoint - Rape Case thrown out (Part 1)
Mary Wilson interviews Ann Marie May, Court Reporter - Mary Wilson - A packed public gallery at
the Wellington District Court erupted into clapping today when a judge threw
out the case of a teacher charged with rape saying that the man was a victim
of a young girls make believe. The 43 year old whose name has been
permanently suppressed was facing five charges including two of raping a
seven year old pupil ten years ago.
Our Court Reporter Ann-Marie May says the accused had a huge number of
supporters with him
2006-0623 - Dominion Post -
Principal 'not told' of girl's alleged abuse
A former primary school principal was never told of abuse allegations against
one of her staff, a Wellington District Court jury has heard…….. The girl's
mother said she told the then-principal of her daughter being kicked, but the
woman told the jury: "I can't remember it at all. It would have been so
unique it would have stayed in my mind." The defendant was a popular and
loved teacher. She would have been horrified to hear if he ever physically
hurt a child.
2006-0622 - Stuff - Teacher
accused of raping student testifies
A teacher accused of raping a seven-year-old girl at a Wellington primary
school took the stand in the Wellington District Court yesterday to deny the
charges against him…… The teacher is also accused of molesting the girl in
his home bathtub, shoving a couch on to her foot, and kicking and bruising
her. "I've never kicked anyone, in the classroom or anywhere," he
told jurors.
2006-0622 - Stuff - Rape accused
teacher 'popular with students'
A former school principal told jurors yesterday that a teacher accused of
raping a seven-year-old girl at school was a favourite with students and ran
a happy classroom. "(He) was a popular and loved teacher," the
longtime school principal, called as a defence witness, testified in Wellington
District Court.
2006-0622 - Dominion Post -
Teacher 'did not touch' rape accuser
A Wellington primary school teacher has told a jury he never touched a former
student who claims he raped her…… The Crown has alleged the teacher raped the
girl in a school corridor and a small office during a break, touched her at
his home and kicked her and pushed a couch over her foot in 1996. He told
Wellington District Court yesterday that there was no door to the little alcove
or office in the classroom where his desk was. Personal photos produced by
the man showed the small space with no door.
2006-0621 - Stuff - Mother
testifies in school rape trial
A mother broke down in tears yesterday as she told how her seven-year-old
daughter came home from school with bruises and bloody underpants, after
allegedly being kicked and raped by her male teacher. …….His accuser, now 17,
said she only began to remember and understand what had happened to her when
she was in her early teens. A chance sighting of her former teacher at Te
Papa Museum several years ago set off feelings of fear and helped her
remember the trauma she had suffered as a child, she told told jurors on
Monday.
2006-0621 - Dominion Post
- Rape complaint 'not a false memory'
The mother of a teenager who says a teacher raped her when she was seven has
denied they wrongly linked a series of memories to reach the view she was
raped……. The mother said that when her daughter was 14 she was having trouble
sleeping and talked to her mother about her memories. The woman said from
that, and her own recall, she believed her daughter had been raped. The girl
was so unhappy at the school that she shifted to another. The girl, now 17,
said that, after having sex education, she was able to make sense of her
memories of the teacher lying on top of her and hurting her.
2006-0620 - Dominion Post -
Teacher raped me, says teen
A teenager has told a jury that she was raped by her primary school teacher
when she was seven. The girl, who is now 17, said yesterday she was at the
Wellington school 10 years ago. The man was a nice teacher for the first term
but in the second term of 1996 he was aggressive. She said that during one
school break he took her into the corridor that doubled as a cloakroom. He
made her lie down then raped her. She said it hurt a lot and there was some
blood. "I was very scared, confused. I didn't know what he was doing was
wrong but I didn't like it."
2006-0619 - One News - Student
details teacher's assault
On Monday the complainant, now a 17-year-old secondary school student, told
the court details of sexual assaults allegedly committed on her when she was
taught by the accused. She said the teacher isolated her from the rest of the
class and on one occasion he took her out into a corridor and raped her. The
girl also told the court that a second rape occurred some time later in a
back room adjoining the classroom.
2006-0303 - Dominion Post - Name
ban continues
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……
2006-0301 - Stuff - Name
suppression continues for teacher accused of rape
NZPA - The identity of a Wellington school teacher accused of raping a
seven-year-old girl 10 years ago will remain secret until after his trial in
June, the High Court has ruled. The 43-year-old man has been charged with two
counts of raping the girl, one of unlawful sexual connection and one of
assaulting her between January and July 1996.
2006-0228 - Dominion Post -
Court battle to name teacher
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.
2006-0227 - Stuff - Teacher
accused of rape seeks to keep identity secret
by Danya Levy - A Wellington school teacher accused of raping a
seven-year-old girl 10 years ago, today sought to keep his identity secret
2006-0227 - NZ Herald -
Teacher accused of rape wants name withheld
by Danya Levy - A Wellington school teacher accused of raping a
seven-year-old girl 10 years ago, today sought to keep his identity secret.
The 43-year-old man has been charged with three counts of raping the girl and
one of assaulting her in 1996. His lawyer, Paul Paino, today asked the High
Court at Wellington to continue interim name suppression until after his
trial, set down for June 19
2006-0208 - Dominion Post -
Rape trial date set
A Wellington teacher accused of raping a young girl 10 years ago will stand
trial on June 19. Details about the man, who is represented by Paul Paino,
are suppressed. He faces three charges of rape and one of assault on a girl
under the age of 12 in 1996
2005-1216 - Dominion Post - Sex
trial for teacher
A Wellington schoolteacher has been committed for trial on four charges of
assault and sexual violation of a seven-year-old girl nearly 10 years ago.
2005-0512 - One News - Teacher
appears on rape charge
A Wellington teacher has appeared in court on a charge of raping a young girl
nine years ago. The 42-year-old man faces three counts of sexually violating
the seven-year-old and one of assault. He was working at the victim's school
at the time the alleged offences occurred in 1996
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