Allegations of Sexual Abuse
	False Allegations
	John Edgar case
	The Dominion May 1 1998 Male teachers need support Former teacher John Timothy Edgar's warning to men to steer clear of a career in teaching is understandable in the wake of his trial on indecency charges. Hopefully it is advice which aspiring male teachers will ignore. The fact that the warning was given at all is a sad commentary on the supercharged climate which has been generated over allegations of sex abuse involving children. A Hamilton jury acquitted Dr Edgar of eight charges of touching, rubbing or staring at boys' genitals while he was teaching at Hukanui Primary School. He contends that the police did not listen to other teachers who could have refuted the charges. The upshot was a trial in which he had to counter the stories of seven boys by proving his innocence -- precisely the opposite of what is supposed to happen in criminal trials. The fact that Dr Edgar is bisexual no doubt made it easier for some to believe him likely to offend, even though the statistics show the greater risk to come from heterosexual men. Some children realise how vulnerable a teacher can be to their accusations, even when they are fabricated, and are calculating enough to play on this. Some parents are predisposed to believe whatever a child says, however bizarre. A law amendment in 1985 changed the rules in sex trials to stop judges telling juries they should acquit when there is no supporting evidence, which, due to the nature of such cases, may not be available. It also seems that in the sensitised climate the police have relaxed some of the rigour with which they approach allegations of sex abuse. Rather than appear sceptical and unfeeling, the temptation must be to let a prosecution go forward even where there are strong indications of innocence. In such a case last September, Chief District Court Judge Ronald Young found that investigations into sexual molestation allegations against a Hutt Valley teacher were inadequate, and ordered the police to pay him $25,000 costs. He said independent witnesses had been available, but the police had not spoken to them. Any teacher who offends against a child deserves to feel the full weight of society's disapproval, but the current climate of suspicion needs to be challenged. Though common sense will always be necessary, there is something radically unhealthy about pressures that ban natural and affirming gestures such as a pat on the shoulder, or hugging a child who has been hurt, "in case the gesture could be misconstrued". The irony is that men's vulnerability to accusations of abuse are deterring some men from primary teaching at a time when they are needed more than ever. For every four women teachers there is only one man. Some schools have no men on their staffs. Yet good role models are as necessary as they have always been -- not only for social balance, not just for sport and discipline, but for showing boys that succeeding in their studies and developing good manners are things which real men value and are worth caring about. From that standpoint, the long-term losers from sex-abuse paranoia are ultimately the children.