A letter sent to parents of pupils at an Auckland primary
school where a teacher is facing 11 charges of indecent
assault against pupils has told them not to comment about the
matter on social media sites.
And it has been revealed that the teacher was charged on
Friday afternoon and ordered to keep away from the school,
not to communicate with any pupils or staff and not to go
near anyone under 16 unless supervised.
Strict and lengthy suppression orders prevent the New Zealand
Herald from publishing the teacher's name, the school where
he worked or any information that could identify the young
victims.
The man is due to make a second appearance in a District
Court in the Auckland area next month. It is understood he
appeared for the first time shortly after his arrest on
Friday.
A letter sent to parents on Monday outlined the allegations
and the court order suppressing the specifics of the case.
"As you know, a complaint was recently made against a teacher
at [the school]. That teacher has been suspended since the
complaint came to light and will not be returning to school
while the investigation into the complaint is ongoing," wrote
the Board of Trustees chairman.
"The BOT wishes to acknowledge how difficult the past few
weeks have been for the families of the children involved."
He explained that after a complaint from a pupil, the
principal and board reported the allegation to the police and
Child, Youth and Family.
A police investigation was launched and after officers spent
time at the school "gathering evidence" they laid charges
against the teacher, involving more than one child.
"Please be advised that suppression orders are in place
primarily to protect the identity of any children who have
made complaints ... These orders require us all to be careful
of what we say as we do not want to jeopardise any legal
processes.
"They mean you cannot mention the name of the staff member
and you cannot mention the name of our school ... These
orders cover verbal and written communication or other
traditional media, as well as email and social media - so
commenting to friends and family via Facebook, Twitter, etc,
is a breach of those orders."
He said the orders also minimised distraction for the
children.
- Anna Leask of the NZ Herald
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