Child sex charge principal named

Name suppression lapsed yesterday for a Wellington primary school principal facing 20 historic charges of child sex abuse.

Richard Fallowfield Joel, 60, of Mana, has been on sick leave from Newlands' Rewa Rewa School since the charges were laid about three weeks ago.

He faces 20 counts of indecently assaulting a boy aged 12 to 16, dating back to 1975, the Dominion Post reported.

Joel told the newspaper he could not discuss the charges and would not say whether he had talked about the matter with the school.

Rewa Rewa School board of trustees chairwoman Helen Richards said parents had not yet been told because "my understanding is the charges haven't been released".

"We legally will talk to them as and when we can. We've got it all under control. Everything is fine. We're just ticking along," Ms Richards said.

Police want to hear from anyone with more information about Mr Joel.

"Given the significance of the charges and the nature of those charges, the investigation team are of the view that there are likely to be other members of the public who are able to provide information that will assist police in their ongoing investigation into the activities of Mr Joel," said Wellington CIB head Mike Arnerich.

- NZPA