A teacher posed as a man on Tinder and Bumble to catfish her colleagues. Photo / 123RF
A teacher posed as a man on Tinder and Bumble to catfish her colleagues. Photo / 123RF
A teacher who catfished two colleagues through dating apps by using the face of an Aussie Rules football star, tricking one into a fake relationship and convincing her to send nude photos of herself, has been struck off.
By day, Ms A was a treasured teacher at a North Island intermediate school who once won a community award for her efforts in the classroom.
But by night, she was posing as a man on two dating platforms where she duped her colleagues into sending naked or half-naked photographs of themselves. One of the interactions resulted in a long-term online relationship.
It took more than a year for one victim to realise the man she was talking with was actually her friend and colleague who worked in a classroom just metres away from her own.
In a Teacher’s Disciplinary Tribunal decision released last week, Ms A - whose name and school at which she worked were permanently suppressed by the authority - was stripped of her registration to teach.
She was earlier convicted in the District Court of dishonestly using a computer and sentenced to intensive supervision.
The tribunal’s summary of facts said the young teacher began working at the North Island school in February 2019.
In April of that year, under the persona “James”, the then 23-year-old matched with another teacher at the school on the dating app Tinder.
As herself, the woman then messaged her new colleague on social media, saying she heard she had matched with James on Tinder. He was a very close family friend, she told the unsuspecting woman.
With the victim, referred to as Ms Z in the decision, being unaware of the catfish operation, she and the offending teacher became friends at work.
During the following months, an online relationship between Ms Z and James ensued.
“[Ms Z] describes the messaging was very much on a romantic level, with a lot of flirtation and some sexualised conversation,” the summary of facts said.
The New Zealand Teachers' Disciplinary Tribunal has cancelled the woman's teaching registration. Photo / iStock
After the conversation became sexual in July, and at the request of James, the victim sent nude photographs of herself to him.
James replied with images of a chest and penis - but none that captured his face.
The offending teacher created a veneer of legitimacy, providing a false birthday for James and names of a fake sister, nieces and nephews.
She repeatedly made excuses for James not to meet the victim.
By July of the following year, the victim’s family became suspicious despite the victim remaining convinced James existed, telling her family of his character and various illnesses.
The scam only became clear when the family discovered the images of “James” were actually of a former Australian athlete who had played Aussie Rules.
It was later discovered that in April 2019 the teacher also matched with another female teacher at the school on dating app Bumble.
When the conversation became flirtatious the victim, under pressure from James, sent a photograph of herself in her underwear and when James did not respond for eight hours she became distraught.
In July of that year, the second victim ended communication with James.
A police investigation followed, resulting in two counts of accessing a computer system for a dishonest purpose being laid against the teacher in January 2021.
She pleaded guilty to the two charges and sought a discharge without conviction.
But in May of that year, North Shore District Court Judge Simon Maude declined the application, convicting the teacher and ordering she serve 18 months of intensive supervision.
The teacher appealed the decision not to discharge her without conviction in the High Court but Justice Geoffrey Venning dismissed it in 2021.
In that decision, Justice Venning said both victims had suffered panic attacks and ongoing anxiety. They had regarded the teacher as a friend, he said.
The Teaching Council’s complaints assessment committee (CAC) launched an investigation shortly afterward.
Teacher ‘contrite and remorseful’ - tribunal
According to the tribunal decision, the teacher told the CAC she took full responsibility for her conduct. She provided proof of post-traumatic stress symptoms and a Disassociative Identity Disorder (DID) diagnosis.
DID is “a complex and rare condition where more than one personality structure exists within you”, according to the Mental Health Foundation. It was previously known as multiple personality disorder.
A psychiatrist giving evidence said symptoms of DID included chronic shame, low self-esteem, self-hatred and depression. These symptoms could have contributed to the offending, the expert said.
In deciding a penalty, tribunal deputy chairman Tim MacKenzie noted the woman was “contrite and remorseful”.
“It could be argued that this incident was a result of mental health issues, which are under treatment, and shouldn’t stop the respondent pursuing her teaching career at some point in the future.”
But he said DID was not easily treatable and the evidence showed the teacher had an uncertain road ahead.
The tribunal had to make a decision on the evidence before the authority, which demonstrated “a lengthy and disturbing ruse against fellow teachers”.
“Ultimately we have concluded that a combination of the seriousness of the conduct and the ongoing and uncertain risk means that no outcome short of cancellation is appropriate here.”
The tribunal left the door open for re-registration “if and when that time comes”.
It also granted the teacher’s application for name suppression - despite the District Court having not made any suppression orders during the woman’s criminal prosecution.
The tribunal also ordered the woman to pay $2468, equivalent to 40 per cent of the tribunal’s costs.
