Teacher on kidnap charge

A Northland teacher who allegedly locked an unruly student in a room, only letting him out when his bus arrived, has been charged with kidnapping, along with five charges of assaulting a child. The four complainants are all pupils.

Counsel Doug Blaikie urged Judge Robert Ronayne to dismiss the kidnapping charge when the teacher, who has name suppression (as does the school) was called in the Kaikohe District Court on Tuesday. The charge arose from an incident (which came to light in 2013) where the teacher placed two unruly students in what the children called 'the jail room', known to staff as the resource room or time-out room.

Crown prosecutor Richard Annandale said the complainant had been grabbed by the shirt and upper arm, taken forcefully to the room and locked inside.

"He didn't get any lunch, and he was let out when the school van was about to leave," he said.

Schools had a right to their own policies around discipline, he added, but those policies had to conform to the laws of the land, including the Crimes Act. The teacher's actions went beyond what was normally expected in society.

Mr Blaikie, however, said the Education Act required children aged 6-16 to attend school, so they were in the lawful custody of their school during teaching hours. The Crown claimed the resource room was locked, but he had found no locking mechanism as described when he inspected it.

"Even if that were so, they were in the lawful custody of the school so they cannot be unlawfully detained. It may be a breach of OSH regulations but nothing more. It was school policy at the time," he said.

Mr Blaikie also questioned the Crown's claim that the boy had gone without lunch, saying he had jumped out a window and was found playing with other children at lunch time. The teacher then ordered him back into the room.

Judge Ronayne reserved his decision.

The defendant will be called again on February 24, and is scheduled to go to jury trial on July 20, with the complainants to give evidence by CCTV.

The Crown is also considering whether to apply to amend the count of kidnapping to a representative charge, meaning it occurred on more than one occasion.