St Cuthbert's College is one of New Zealand's best-performing schools for academic results. Photo / St Cuthbert's
St Cuthbert's College is one of New Zealand's best-performing schools for academic results. Photo / St Cuthbert's
A former teacher at one of the country’s most prestigious schools has been cleared of wrongdoing after being accused of asking a teenage girl for a kiss and about her previous sexual experience.
However, in releasing it’s findings today the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal was at “pains to point out” it did not find the former St Cuthbert’s College student’s account unbelievable, nor did it find the teacher’s version of events completely correct.
“This process is limited to whether we find the charge proven or not based on all of the evidence, which we do not,” it said in its decision.
St Cuthbert’s principal Charlotte Avery has responded by sending alumnae a statement praising the former student for her courage in coming forward, saying it was important such allegations are properly investigated.
It was alleged the teacher engaged in inappropriate communication with the student, who was aged 14-15, in 2006 or 2007. That communication included asking for a kiss, asking her about sexual activity and asking about physical intimacy.
The student then made a complaint to the Teachers Council in 2022. Its investigation arm then looked into the complaint and referred it to the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal which held a hearing into the matter in February this year.
Now, the tribunal has ruled that it cannot prove the charge against the former teacher, who has name suppression and left the school nearly a decade ago.
“We find ourselves in a position where we are left sufficiently uncertain so as to find the charge has not been proven.
“We do not reject either set of evidence. But we cannot say that we sufficiently prefer one account over the other.”
The tribunal noted there were no other witnesses nor any extra evidence for it to consider.
Part of the evidence that was presented to the tribunal was the former student’s communications with another former student who had been the complainant in a previous decision involving the same teacher.
In those emails, the student and the earlier complainant talked about the teacher, the outcome of the earlier complaint, as well as her own complaint.
That complaint was investigated but not referred up to the tribunal.
The investigation found that the teacher had been “overly familiar” in emails with another student and phoned her while drunk. Ultimately the investigating committee found that there was “nothing of an explicitly sexually predatory nature” in the man’s behaviour but described it as “unwise”.
At the 2024 hearing, it was put to the former student in cross-examination that she held some resentment towards the teacher for not being appropriately punished in relation to the previous disciplinary issue.
The student accepted that she considered he had not been dealt with appropriately, however, this was more in relation to his fitness to teach given the conduct she was also alleging.
The length of time since the incident and the complaint was also raised, as was the possibility the woman had confused the teacher with someone else. However, throughout the questioning, the woman remained steadfast that she had remembered the incidents correctly.
The incidents themselves were not detailed further in the ruling than the basic charges.
At the hearing, the teacher also gave evidence and said the incidents did not occur as they’d been alleged.
He accepted that he had some discussions with his former student when she was a student but only at an innocuous level. He denied that intimate or sexual matters were discussed or acted on.
The tribunal said the previous finding indicated the teacher had some historical issues with boundaries but it couldn’t apply that behaviour to the more recent complaint.
“The allegations being recounted are now around 16 to 17 years old,” the tribunal’s ruling reads.
“We are aware that memories can sometimes be unreliable and we are cautious as to how much weight we can place on [the student’s] account.”
Principal of St Cuthbert’s College Charlotte Avery. Photo / Supplied
In her statement to school alumnae Avery noted that the school submitted a complaint to the tribunal in 2021.
“This related to allegations about inappropriate behaviour towards a student at the college at that time,” Avery said.
“The teacher concerned left the college over a decade ago before any current students would have attended the college.”
Avery commended the courage of the former student in coming forward which allowed the school to notify the Teaching Council.
“Although the teacher left St Cuthbert’s a long time before the concerns were raised, we believe it is very important that allegations of this nature be properly investigated, and that students are supported and encouraged to come forward,” she said.
Jeremy Wilkinson is an Open Justice reporter based in Manawatū covering courts and justice issues with an interest in tribunals. He has been a journalist for nearly a decade and has worked for NZME since 2022.
