Over four years, the teacher would often excuse her from class so they could spend time together.
He would compliment her appearance and intelligence.
When she was 13, he persuaded her to go to the beach with him one morning before school. The trip was not a school activity.
He also took her on a trip out of Whanganui but, shortly afterwards, he and the girl stopped communicating regularly.
In her final year of school, when the victim was 17, the relationship resumed and the teacher began regularly having sexual intercourse with her.
He sent her notes saying he loved her and asking her to run away with him.
Their sexual relationship continued after she had left school.
The victim spoke through tears while reading her victim impact statement in court.
She said she had a bad gut feeling about the attention the teacher had paid her.
“He made me feel like he understood me and saw something in me others couldn’t.
“I felt like I was far more mature than I actually was.
“I had no idea how much of a power imbalance there actually was.”
She said the relationship had isolated her from her peers and made her think it was normal to feel pressured into having sex.
“I grew up thinking it was okay and normal for him to want me sexually.”
At the time, she had viewed the teacher as “an older man, an authority figure”. The grooming in her teens had affected her mental wellbeing and had meant she found it challenging to set boundaries or protect herself.
The second victim met the teacher when she was 14 and was placed in his class.
During that year she started spending lunch breaks in his classroom, where he would give her lollies.
He would often excuse her from class so they could spend time together and watch videos on his computer. He bought her gifts, took her to buy food and told her she was pretty.
In her victim impact statement, she said it now made her physically sick to mention the teacher’s name.
She said their relationship in school meant she was “distracted, unmotivated and didn’t have the requirements to get into university”.
“He used a position of trust to manipulate me.”
She said the relationship had destroyed her childhood memories and even now, when she drove through Whanganui, she was in a constant state of alert, panic and anxiety.
‘He needs to be fully punished’, Crown says
The teacher entered the dock in front of a crowded public gallery, with members of the victims’ families in attendance.
Judge Justin Marinovich read out a statement from the teacher that said “there is not a day that goes by that I do not regret my offending”.
“I am so sorry for what I have done,” the statement read.
“I’m aware of how damaging what I have done is to girls at such a vulnerable age and how it changes the trajectory of their lives.
“I reflect on how I would feel if this were to happen to my daughter at school.”
Defence lawyer Jamie Waugh said the teacher had no previous convictions.
He accepted it might take a lifetime to make things right.
“The reality for him is that his own behaviour has led to a catastrophic fall from grace, he has lost his profession and his personal life has completely disintegrated.”
Crown prosecutor Chris Wilkinson-Smith said the offending required a stern response because of the position the defendant held and argued for the teacher to be registered on the Child Sex Offender Register.
“He needs to be fully punished.
“I don’t think we can be satisfied that [he] has been cured of whatever drove him to offend in this way in the first place.”
Judge Marinovich said the teacher had carried out “persistent and calculated grooming”.
He had worked on each victim by obtaining cellphone numbers, complimenting their looks and excusing them from classes.
“Their vulnerability increases as the grooming progresses and they emotionally attach themselves to you.
“You were a teacher and they were students.”
The judge said it was clear the impact on the victims had been significant and had affected their schooling and social lives.
He acknowledged the defendant’s remorse, his previous clean record and the fact he had offered to attend a restorative justice meeting with the victims.
In his final ruling, he chose not to register the teacher on the Child Sex Offender Register and sentenced him to 10-and-a-half months’ home detention.
The defence appealed against a decision to name the man. His name will remain suppressed until an appeal is heard in the High Court at Wellington on December 4.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
SEXUAL HARM
Where to get help:
If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively, contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.
