Police say the investigation into sexual offending by a former deputy principal is not over.
James Robertson Parker, 37, told a packed Kaitaia District Court yesterday that he admitted 49 charges of sexually abusing schoolboys, but that he was not a monster.
Parker told the court he suffered a "most terrible disorder" and hoped desperately he would now get help for his sickness.
The revelations about the deputy principal at Pamapuria School, a 180-pupil primary school 10km south of Kaitaia, have hit the tight-knit community hard - Parker was a popular and highly-regarded teacher who was "one of the whanau".
Many in court sobbed as he answered each charge - 25 of indecent assault, 15 of performing an indecent act and nine of unlawful sexual connection - with a plea of guilty.