Teacher cleared of sexual offending

The man in his 60s, whose name is suppressed along with the school at which he taught, faced 25 representative charges of doing indecent acts against students between the ages of 6 and 8, from between 2011 and 2012.

Late yesterday afternoon, after more than two days of deliberation, a jury at the High Court in Auckland returned verdicts of not guilty on all counts.

The Crown alleged acts were committed under the ruse of classroom games which the teacher called "tickle torture" and "upside downies".

But the jury rejected that assertion.

Defence lawyer Richard Earwaker said his client - a grandfather with more than 40 years' teaching experience and the recipient of a prestigious award - may have been unwise with his physical contact with students but there was nothing indecent about it.

"But being unwise or stupid doesn't make you a criminal," Mr Earwaker said.

He warned the jury not to assume the number of charges made the man guilty and suggested he had been the victim of schoolyard gossip among both students and their parents.

The teacher's name suppression continues until the end of the week but it is understood he will he not seek its continuation.

It is unclear yet as to whether the school will attempt to make the order permanent suppressing its name.