The teacher used Snapchat to send sexually explicit content to people.
The teacher used Snapchat to send sexually explicit content to people.
A teacher who sent videos of himself masturbating to people he believed to be teenage boys turned himself in to the police after being caught by an ex-student.
He has now been given a good behaviour bond for the offending but his identity will never be publicly revealed after the court granted him permanent name suppression.
In New Plymouth District Court this week, Judge Gregory Hikaka accepted the Taranaki man was remorseful and had faced genuine consequences for his actions, such as losing his career as an educator and receiving a conviction.
According to the Teaching Council, his registration has been cancelled.
The man, who wiped away tears as he stood in the dock, was supported in court by his wife.
Police did not oppose the man’s application for permanent name suppression, and Judge Hikaka accepted publishing his name would create extreme hardship, the threshold for granting the application, for his children.
The man, who has not previously appeared before the court, pleaded guilty to a charge of “exposure of a young person to indecent material (attempt)”, which carries a maximum penalty of 18 months’ imprisonment.
The man appeared in New Plymouth District Court on Wednesday. Photo / Tara Shaskey
According to the police summary of facts, the offending occurred on various occasions between July 2022 and July 2024 through the social media app Snapchat.
The man had published his Snapchat username on a website designed to match with others to engage in online sexual conduct.
After he friended a person, the man would have a general conversation with the unknown user, including them sharing their names, ages, and other details about themselves.
A “handful of times”, he engaged in conversations with people who advised they were under the age of 16. This included boys who told him they were 14 and 15.
Despite the man believing they were of that age, he continued to engage in sexually explicit conversation, sending images of his genitals and videos of himself masturbating.
He received similar content from the recipients of his images.
The man’s offending came to light when he unwittingly communicated and shared images with an ex-student who recognised him.
After being spoken to by a colleague, he went to the police station and reported his offending.
In court, Judge Hikaka acknowledged the man had accepted full responsibility.
“In fact, you went to the police. Had it not been for how you felt about the offending itself, this [the charge] would not have occurred.
“Your remorse is genuine, and the consequences are genuine – you’ve lost your job and the conviction is ... no doubt that consequence will be something that will remain.”
The judge said the man had taken steps to address his offending and the police had no issue with the matter being dealt with by way of an order to come up for sentence if called upon, an outcome defence submitted was the least restrictive.
“That is the appropriate end sentence,” Judge Hikaka said, describing it as a “reminder”.
He convicted the man and ordered him to come up for a sentence if called upon within 12 months, meaning if he returned to court within that period, a sentence could be imposed for the earlier offending.
The order is often referred to as a suspended sentence or a good behaviour bond.
Tara Shaskey joined NZME in 2022 as a news director and Open Justice reporter. She has been a reporter since 2014 and previously worked at Stuff covering crime and justice, arts and entertainment, and Māori issues.
