Lawrence Stephens was a teacher for 25 years before he was fired when he was prosecuted for possessing the most serious child abuse and bestiality images.
Lawrence Stephens was a teacher for 25 years before he was fired when he was prosecuted for possessing the most serious child abuse and bestiality images.
An Auckland school has gone to the High Court in a bid to stop its name being published in connection with its former deputy principal imprisoned for possessing child abuse and bestiality images.
He had earlier pleaded guilty to five charges covering the possession of 218 images and one charge of making an objectionable publication. The latter charge relates to explicit messages where he discussed his desire to offend sexually against a 3-year-old.
Of the images, 140 were in the most serious category, showing children engaged in penetrative sex. There is no suggestion the school or any pupils were involved in his offending.
Most of the victims depicted were children between toddler-age and 13. Among the other images were 31 involving bestiality.
“This is not victimless offending,” Judge Kevin Glubb said as he jailed Stephens. “It is actual children being brutalised in the most horrendous way.”
The man’s employer for over a decade was a private school in Auckland.
At sentencing, Judge Kevin Glubb declined an application by the school’s lawyer David Dickinson for permanent name suppression of the institution’s name.
But the Herald was unable to publish its name because the school appealed. The appeal was heard by Justice Geoffrey Venning at the Auckland High Court on Monday.
Justice Geoffrey Venning reserved his decision on suppression for the school. Photo / Michael Craig
Dickinson said publication of the school’s name in connection with the case would create an “indelible link” between Stephens’ offending and the institution, which had nothing to do with his crimes.
No students from the school were involved in his offending and it happened in his spare time, Dickinson said.
“About 99 per cent of this story’s already been published,” Dickinson said.
“The only part that hasn’t been published is the school’s name, and the school had nothing to do with it.”
The Crown said Judge Glubb did not err when declining to permanently suppress the school’s name.
Paul Gillick, senior legal counsel for Herald publisher NZME, argued against permanent suppression for the school.
He said at sentencing the public interest outweighed any argument for suppression in favour of the school.
“The defendant was an employee and was trusted by the Teaching Council to conduct himself appropriately,” Gillick said.
Justice Venning said he would have thought the matters of public interest were the fact a senior secondary school teacher had been accused of serious offending, rather than the name of a school which was not otherwise involved aside from being the man’s employer.
“When it’s got no connection otherwise with the school I’m struggling to see why it’s so important that the school’s name be published,” Justice Venning said.
Gillick said the fact of the connection was widely known within the school community given Stephens’ name had already been published.
The public at large had a right to know who his employer was, he said.
Justice Venning reserved his decision but said he expected to release it in writing before the end of the week.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
