No conviction for former staff member at top Wellington school on assault charge

The man appeared in the Wellington District Court this afternoon. Photo / NZME

A former staff member at a top Wellington school who cuffed a student on the back of the head has been discharged without conviction, with the judge questioning whether charges should even have been laid.

The man, who has been granted permanent name suppression, struck a glancing blow to the back of the 15-year-old student’s head with an open palm after the student swore, Judge Andrew Nicholls said in the Wellington District Court this afternoon.

The boy told police he didn’t think a “big deal” needed to be made out of the incident, but laid a complaint with police after speaking to his father - a man who had an “ongoing negative relationship” with the defendant and the school, according to defence lawyer Sandy Baigent.

The defendant appeared in court today, having earlier pleaded guilty to one charge of common assault. He had faced two charges, but one was withdrawn by police at his last appearance.

Baigent said the assault was “borne out of an unthinking frustration” sparked by the victim’s swearing, which she described as a “resilient problem” with that particular student and a pervasive issue among his peers.

She said there was “quite a background” to the charge, referencing the previous poor relationship between the defendant and the victim’s father.

The father had strong views about how the defendant’s job should be done and regularly held meetings with the school’s headmaster about it.

Prior to the assault, the father had lost positions he held, which led to “a sense of aggravation by him towards the school and also towards the defendant”.

The bad blood led to multiple complaints being laid about the defendant, most of which were investigated by police and dropped. But the charges of assault were laid.

“It’s hard to resist the suggestion that perhaps the complainant’s father has weaponised his children in an effort to get some sort of vengeance against the school and the defendant,” Baigent said.

Judge Andrew Nicholls said the assault was “in no way serious” and described it as a “single cuff” to the back of the head.

“While what happened should not have happened, the gravity of the offending is very low.”

He noted there appeared to have been a “campaign” against the defendant and was concerned this would continue if name suppression was lifted.

He said the man had lost his job, had to move his child to a different school, had no income, and his wife had suffered serious stress and anxiety from the investigation and court process.

“It’s not obvious that criminalising this incident was the right response,” Judge Nicholls said, noting the matter had come all this way “somehow without anyone standing back and saying ‘stop this can be dealt with a different way’.”

“There is a question about whether it should have been criminalised at all.”

He said a conviction would be out of all proportion to the seriousness of the offending, particularly given the stress and hardships the man and his family had already faced and granted a discharge without conviction.

Judge Nicholls also granted permanent name suppression, saying he believed the man and his family would suffer extreme hardship if his name were to be published.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.