Editorial: Horror crim leaves scars that endure

Robert Burrett.

The harrowing and repulsive details of what Robert Selwyn Burrett did to his young victims are stuck in my mind.

How did this happen? How did a man who had been forced out of two schools in the North Island as principal and deputy principal over complaints about his incompetent and concerning teaching manner end up anywhere near a school?

As caretaker and bus driver of a South Island school this predator had the freedom to use and abuse children at his will.

The very name of his position would imply to children that he was there to "take care" of them. Instead, he preyed on them.

When Teresa Cormack was abducted and killed on her way to school in 1987, it changed forever the way children got to school.

Parents were too frightened to let their children walk or bike to school. They felt better dropping them at the gate and watching them go in, knowing they were safe - and safe they should be.

I can't imagine how the parents of Burrett's victims feel. The mother of one of the victims told Burrett in court this week that she "hated him" and his crimes had left her feeling like a useless parent.

My heart breaks for these families. Their innocent children have been scarred for life.

This hideous person has just made it harder for all the wonderful men who do work with children, because there has to be more scrutiny into the background of those working near or with children so people like Burrett never get the chance to hurt them again.