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Speaker 1: This episode of A Moment in Crime tells a story

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Speaker 1: of significant sexual offending and abuse, and is intended for

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Speaker 1: a mature audience. If you or someone you know needs help,

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Speaker 1: please refer to the show notes for a list of

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Speaker 1: crisis and care services and agencies. In July twenty nineteen,

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Speaker 1: police announced that arrested a thirty seven year old teacher

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Speaker 1: as part of an ongoing investigation into sexual abuse allegations

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Speaker 1: at a South Island school. The teacher had been charged

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Speaker 1: with sexual connection with a young person under the age

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Speaker 1: of sixteen and intentionally exposing a young person to indecent material.

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Speaker 1: Over the years, I've covered many cases of teachers abusing

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Speaker 1: their pupils, but this one was like nothing before, and

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Speaker 1: it turned out to be unprecedented in New Zealand because

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Speaker 1: the teacher before the courts was a woman. Jamie Marie

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Speaker 1: Kearney had been the head of Languages at Marlborough Boys

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Speaker 1: College for about five years and also worked as a

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Speaker 1: wellness coordinator. She came from a prominent and well known

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Speaker 1: mind Olbra family. Her husband was a police officer, and

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Speaker 1: she had two young children. For all intents and purposes,

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Speaker 1: Kearney looked like a dedicated and hard working educator, but

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Speaker 1: behind the classroom door, she was an appalling child sex offender.

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Speaker 1: Kearney's is one of three cases I'll cover in today's

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Speaker 1: episode of A Moment in Crime. Unfortunately, it's not a

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Speaker 1: rare occurrence for teachers to be investigated or charged with

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Speaker 1: sexual offending against the children and young people they're supposed

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Speaker 1: to be educating, guiding and nurturing. But these three cases

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Speaker 1: are among the worst. They're the worst in terms of

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Speaker 1: how the abuse played out, they are the worst in

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Speaker 1: terms of the number of victims, and they are the

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Speaker 1: worst because of how long the offending took place. And

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Speaker 1: in all three cases, these predators could have been stopped

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Speaker 1: much earlier. There were glaring red flags and concerns were

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Speaker 1: raised both formally and informally with police and other authorities,

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Speaker 1: but for various reasons, these affairs remained free and able

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Speaker 1: to continue hurting and harming young New Zealanders and causing

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Speaker 1: everlasting damage to their families. In today's episode of A

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Speaker 1: Moment in Crime, I will tell you about the offending

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Speaker 1: of Jamie Kearney, Paul Herrick, and James Parker. The latter

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Speaker 1: two were school principles. I will tell you how they

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Speaker 1: were caught and how they were dealt with by the

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Speaker 1: justice system, and where they are now, and I will

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Speaker 1: tell you how much of their offending could and should

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Speaker 1: have been prevented. You'll also hear about Parker's recent parole hearing.

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Speaker 1: Did the man known as one of New Zealand's worst

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Speaker 1: pedophiles get released from prison? And what does his future

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Speaker 1: look like. You'll also hear from victims of this hideous

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Speaker 1: abuse about the impact it's had on their lives and

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Speaker 1: how it ruined their childhoods. Some speak in their own words,

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Speaker 1: and others awful stories are told by their parents. This

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Speaker 1: episode of a Moment in Crime as intended for a

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Speaker 1: mature audience. It refers to sexual offending against children and

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Speaker 1: is graphic in parts. I will never describe every detail

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Speaker 1: of sexual abuse or assaults. I don't believe my audience

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Speaker 1: need or want to hear the most intimate details of

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Speaker 1: this kind of offending. My omission of this deeply personal

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Speaker 1: and often triggering information is also out of respect to

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Speaker 1: the victims I'm reporting on and others who may have

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Speaker 1: been through similar ordeals. But I firmly believe it's important

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Speaker 1: that the basic details about these cases are made public

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Speaker 1: and in particular that the way these offenders target groom

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Speaker 1: access and harm victims is explained in full. If we

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Speaker 1: know more about these crimes, we can do more to

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Speaker 1: stop them happening. In future. We can protect people from

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Speaker 1: suffering a lifetime of harm at the hands of pedophiles

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Speaker 1: and predators. Parents and caregivers may recognize red flags and

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Speaker 1: warning signs that otherwise would not have known about, and

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Speaker 1: most importantly, victims may be encouraged to speak up about

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Speaker 1: their own abuse and hold offenders to account. If you

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Speaker 1: have suffered abuse or worried about your own or someone

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Speaker 1: else's child, please see the show notes for information on

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Speaker 1: help and support services. From the whodune its in cold

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Speaker 1: cases to the strange and quirky, crime is one of

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Speaker 1: the most fascinating corners of society and the news from

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Speaker 1: the New Zealand Herald newsroom comes a Moment in Crime,

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Speaker 1: a podcast delving into some of New Zealand's most high

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Speaker 1: profile cases, offenses and offenders. Each month, I'll take you

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Speaker 1: inside some of our most infamous incidents, notorious offenders, and

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Speaker 1: behind the scenes of high profile trials and events to

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Speaker 1: show you what's really happening in your backyard. As I

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Speaker 1: was putting this episode together, a twenty six year old

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Speaker 1: teacher was arrested and charged with sexual offending against at

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Speaker 1: least one teenage student. She was charged with two counts

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Speaker 1: of sexually violating the boy, one of performing an indecent

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Speaker 1: act on him, and another of communicating with him and

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Speaker 1: effectively grooming he him with the intention to facilitate sexual contact.

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Speaker 1: The court heard one of the alleged defenses actually took

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Speaker 1: place at a major metropolitan shopping center. The teacher was

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Speaker 1: granted name suppression, so in this episode I can't tell

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Speaker 1: you anything more about her. The police investigation into her

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Speaker 1: offending was also ongoing. I will continue reporting on the

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Speaker 1: prosecution as it unfolds in the Herald and will soon

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Speaker 1: be able to publish much more on this case. In

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Speaker 1: New Zealand, it's rare for female teachers to be charged

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Speaker 1: with this kind of offending, but it does happen. In

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Speaker 1: twenty nineteen, Jamie Kearney became the first woman to be convicted, sentenced,

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Speaker 1: and jailed in New Zealand for child sex offending and

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Speaker 1: a student teacher context. The offending came to light in

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Speaker 1: July that year when police issued their statement announcing her arrest.

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Speaker 1: From that day on, I followed the case through the courts.

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Speaker 1: In October twenty nineteen, Kearney pleaded guilty to seven charges

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Speaker 1: of unlawful sexual connection with miners and one of exposing

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Speaker 1: a minor to indecent materialurial. Over a year long period,

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Speaker 1: it emerged Kearney had been having sex with two fifteen

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Speaker 1: year old boys and parked cars, often telling the victims

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Speaker 1: she loved them and showing them explicit videos. She also

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Speaker 1: admitted engaging in group sex with the victims and having

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Speaker 1: sex in cars with tinted windows parked in public places.

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Speaker 1: Some of the charges were representative, meaning the acts happened

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Speaker 1: numerous times. At her first court appearance, Kearney was granted

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Speaker 1: name suppression, so for a long time we could not

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Speaker 1: identify her. Her name stayed secret, despite the wider Blenham

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Speaker 1: community knowing exactly who she was, for months after she

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Speaker 1: was jailed. I'll tell you more about that later. In

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Speaker 1: December twenty nineteen, I traveled to Blenheim to attend Kearney's

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Speaker 1: sentencing before Judge Tony's or Ub. The hearing began shortly

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Speaker 1: after two fifteen PM on December seventeen. The courtroom was packed.

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Speaker 1: Families of the young victims and school staff sat opposite

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Speaker 1: Kearney's family and friends, with members of the public taking

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Speaker 1: any bear seats they could grab. For the first time,

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Speaker 1: Kearney's offending was outlined in full, Crown Prosecutor Mark O'Donohue

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Speaker 1: explained that she had worked at Marlboro Boys College for

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Speaker 1: more than a decade and had had sexual connections with

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Speaker 1: an unknown number of male students. However, the offending she'd

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Speaker 1: admitted to related to just two tenage boys. O'Donohue said.

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Speaker 1: During her time at the school, Kearney targeted boys in

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Speaker 1: lower socioeconomic families, boys who played rugby. The offending against

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Speaker 1: the first victim began soon after he and Kearney worked

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Speaker 1: together at a school event. His parents were probably proud

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Speaker 1: he was getting involved in extracurricular activities, exerting himself beyond

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Speaker 1: the classroom. Little did they know he was effectively being

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Speaker 1: groomed for sex by a person they should have been

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Speaker 1: able to trust. Often while she was at home or

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Speaker 1: with her own young children, Kearney started to send the

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Speaker 1: boy text messages asking about his sport. Offering him rides

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Speaker 1: to various places and telling him about her life. That

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Speaker 1: messaging ramped up until it was happening every day. The

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Speaker 1: pair soon started to spend most lunchtimes together, and Kearney

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Speaker 1: unloaded on the boy about her personal problems. Court documents

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Speaker 1: stated she would talk to him about her mental health

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Speaker 1: problems and tell him that life was getting too hard

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Speaker 1: for her and she needed someone to talk to. The

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Speaker 1: defendant and the victim built up a trust, and this

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Speaker 1: led to her getting flirty with the victim. Kearney was

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Speaker 1: well into her thirties, the student was fourteen, barely old

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Speaker 1: enough to be left on his own legally. Kearney would

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Speaker 1: lean on the boy emotionally, and during one of their

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Speaker 1: lunchtime meetings, the relationship became sexually abusive. She drove the

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Speaker 1: boy in her personal vehicle from school to a car

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Speaker 1: park and a local reserve. The boy told her he

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Speaker 1: was worried someone at school would notice his absence, but

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Speaker 1: Kearney told him not to worry that she would fix

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Speaker 1: up any problems. Sitting in the car at the reserve,

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Speaker 1: Kearney became emotional and moved from the driver's seat to

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Speaker 1: the back seat. She invited the boy to join her.

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Speaker 1: The car windows were tinted and nobody could see what

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Speaker 1: was happening between the pair. The teacher began to flirt

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Speaker 1: with the student, then she climbed onto his lap and

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Speaker 1: started to kiss him. She touched him, performed an explicit

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Speaker 1: act on him, and asked him have you had sex before?

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Speaker 1: The boy avoided her question, telling her he had sport

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Speaker 1: training and he needed to get back to school. Coarney

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Speaker 1: drove him back and dropped him down the road from

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Speaker 1: the school so they didn't get seen. Before the boy

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Speaker 1: got out of the car, she told him, don't tell anyone.

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Speaker 1: From there, the trysts became more abusive. Cooney first enticed

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Speaker 1: the boy to have intercourse with her when they were

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Speaker 1: parked at a Blenham sports venue on another school lunch break.

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Speaker 1: She invited him into the back seat and she initi

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Speaker 1: added the sexual activity. After that. The abuse was routine,

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Speaker 1: and let me be very clear here, it was abuse.

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Speaker 1: It was an adult age nearly forty years old, coercing

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Speaker 1: a child into having sex. That is child sex abuse,

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Speaker 1: plain and simple. Sometimes Courney would pick the boy up

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Speaker 1: and abuse him on a Friday afternoon while she waited

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Speaker 1: for her own children to finish sport training. By now,

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Speaker 1: the boy believed he was in a relationship with his teacher.

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Speaker 1: Court documents stated she would tell him that she loved

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Speaker 1: him and how amazing he was. There are a number

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Speaker 1: of times where she told the victims she would kill herself,

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Speaker 1: and this made the victim feel he needed to stay.

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Speaker 1: This went on for about a year. Perney's abuse of

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Speaker 1: the boy was much more than physical, though. She also

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Speaker 1: used social media to exploit him and expose him to

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Speaker 1: things completely inappropriate for his age. She would take naked

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Speaker 1: photos of herself while she was in the bath or

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Speaker 1: in bed at home, assumedly at times while her husband

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Speaker 1: and children were nearby, and send them to the victim

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Speaker 1: on Snapchat. Snapchat is a popular messaging app that lets

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Speaker 1: users exchange pictures and videos called snaps. The images and

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Speaker 1: videos disappear after they're viewed, but can be screen grabbed.

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Speaker 1: Kearney would also FaceTime the victim, show him her body,

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Speaker 1: and tease him. She seemed to be relentless in pursuing

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Speaker 1: his attention. In late twenty eighteen, the abuse took a

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Speaker 1: new turn when another boy became embroiled in the situation.

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Speaker 1: He was invited to a group chat by the first victim.

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Speaker 1: The chat was used the court herd to discuss sexual matters.

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Speaker 1: A day after that, Kearney picked up both boys and

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Speaker 1: drove them to a local park. There, in the back

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Speaker 1: of her car, all three engaged in sexual acts. The

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Speaker 1: teacher then dropped the young students at the gym. The

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Speaker 1: second boy visited Kearney in her classroom. Soon after, they

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Speaker 1: started play fighting and then kissed. She told the boy

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Speaker 1: they needed to leave school to go somewhere. She led

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Speaker 1: him outside and told him to go and wait for

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Speaker 1: her down the street. He followed instructions and Cooney picked

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Speaker 1: him up minutes later, driving him to the sports venue

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Speaker 1: car park and abusing him in the back seat. After

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Speaker 1: the look meeting, Kearney dropped the boy off at his home.

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Speaker 1: They continued to meet and the sexual abuse carried on

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Speaker 1: for months. Kearney's criminal offending was revealed soon after the

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Speaker 1: first victim tried to end things with her. She wouldn't

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Speaker 1: let him go. She continued to message him and tell

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Speaker 1: him that she loved him. She also sent in a

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Speaker 1: decent video of herself and nude photographs. Soon after that,

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Speaker 1: photos and videos began to circulate of Kearney in various

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Speaker 1: stages of undress, touching herself and engaging in sexual acts

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Speaker 1: with boys. Police became involved, an investigation began and she

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Speaker 1: was arrested. The Crown Prosecutor revealed to the court that

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Speaker 1: Kearney had engaged in sexual activity with numerous students at

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Speaker 1: Marlborough Boys College. However, she was only charged in relation

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Speaker 1: to two of the boys. Keep listening for more on this.

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Speaker 1: Later in the episode, after he had outlined the offending

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Speaker 1: in court, the prosecutor o'donahue spoke further about Kearney's actions

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Speaker 1: and the impact. He said, She's gone out of her

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Speaker 1: way to target them in a sexually exploitative way. There

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Speaker 1: was a significant breach of trust. She attempted to manipulate,

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Speaker 1: coerce and control the victims with threats of self harm.

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Speaker 1: This was sexually exploitative conduct by an adult. She emotionally

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Speaker 1: manipulated both boys. O'Donohue said Kearney's offending was aggravated by

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Speaker 1: the fact the offending went on for so long, the

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Speaker 1: vulnerability of the victims, and the age discrepancy between the

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Speaker 1: boys and the offender. Cooney's lawyer, Jonathan Eaton, who became

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Speaker 1: a High Court judge soon after. This prosecution argued that

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Speaker 1: the offending was far less serious than the Crown was

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Speaker 1: making out. Eaton submitted the offending was not degrading and

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Speaker 1: the only aggravating factor was the boy's age. He said

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Speaker 1: the boys were big athletes and there was no degree

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Speaker 1: of physical intimidation by their then teacher. He attempted to

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Speaker 1: downgrade the offending further, telling the court Cooney was not

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Speaker 1: a classroom teacher for either of the boys. However, he

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Speaker 1: did accept the breach of trust was up there. Judge

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Speaker 1: Zaurab shut Eaten down on a number of points. He said,

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Speaker 1: even if the actual physical offending was not considered degrading,

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Speaker 1: a fifteen year old boy being involved in a three

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Speaker 1: way sex act in a car with someone old enough

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Speaker 1: to be his mother had to be at least demeaning.

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Speaker 1: He rejected Eaton's suggestion that the physicality of the victims

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Speaker 1: made them less vulnerable. While they might have had the

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Speaker 1: bodies of men, he said they very much had the

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Speaker 1: minds of children. O'donahue added to that in his submissions,

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Speaker 1: saying young people are significantly different neurologically to adults. Their

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Speaker 1: ability to control, impulse and make wise judgments of a

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Speaker 1: last part of the brain to develop, and an adolescent

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Speaker 1: is more prone to acting with impulse behavior. It was

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Speaker 1: the adult in control here and the adult who was

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Speaker 1: doing wrong. Before Judge Zorab handed down Kearney's sentence, the

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Speaker 1: court heard from the young victims in their own words.

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Speaker 1: They weren't present in court they didn't want to see

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Speaker 1: the offender. O'Donohue read their short statements, saying it was

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Speaker 1: clear from their words that Kearney had emotionally manipulated both boys.

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Speaker 1: He said the boys came from families and cultural backgrounds

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Speaker 1: where they were private and reserved. It's hard to say

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Speaker 1: stop to a personal authority, and it's even harder to

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Speaker 1: stop once it started, he explained. The first boy's statement read,

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Speaker 1: Missus Kearney made me worry about her is. When I

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Speaker 1: tried to say what was happening between us, she told

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Speaker 1: me she would harm herself. This is not fair. She

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Speaker 1: should not have put that burden on me. The second

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Speaker 1: victim revealed that when he tried to stop the abuse,

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Speaker 1: Cooney locked herself in a car and started cutting herself

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Speaker 1: with scissors. He said, I was ashamed. I didn't want

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Speaker 1: to do it anymore. Part of a letter Kearney had

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Speaker 1: written a head of sentencing was also read in court.

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Speaker 1: The letter was meant for the victims, school and wider community,

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Speaker 1: but only part of it was sheared in court, and

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Speaker 1: Kearney's lawyers refused to provide the full letter. Following the hearing,

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Speaker 1: Eaton said his client was still struggling to comprehend and

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Speaker 1: articulate why she offended, but the clear message is that

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Speaker 1: she does take full responsibility for her offending, he said.

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Speaker 1: In the letter, Kearney referred to herself as a sex

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Speaker 1: offender and said she was aware of the impact of

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Speaker 1: her actions. She wrote, I make no excuses for what

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Speaker 1: I have done, and I am here today to face

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Speaker 1: the victims and the community. I'm ready to do that.

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Speaker 1: I would like to express my deep regret to the

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Speaker 1: victims and their families. You were students and I was

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Speaker 1: the teacher. I am deeply sorry I have hurt you

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Speaker 1: and brought shame to your families. It was only me

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Speaker 1: that was in the wrong, and you have nothing to

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Speaker 1: be ashamed of. Judge zub turned to the formal sentencing.

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Speaker 1: He was scathing of Kearney. He said you were a teacher.

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Speaker 1: This is not a situation of you being a young

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Speaker 1: female teacher. You were a mature woman. You had a

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Speaker 1: senior leadership role in the community. Parents were sending their

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Speaker 1: children to the college to be educated and nurtured. You

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Speaker 1: have breached that trust effectively. There was grooming and premeditation

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Speaker 1: on your part over a long period of time. Judge

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Speaker 1: Zaurab described the offending as a gross breach of trust

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Speaker 1: and pointed out that no one should have been more

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Speaker 1: attuned to the needs of young men growing up than

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Speaker 1: a trained teacher. He said, it's difficult enough growing up

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Speaker 1: without the sorts of things occurring. Your role was a

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Speaker 1: pastoral one. You have seriously compromised your obligations. He sentenced

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Speaker 1: Kearney to two years and six months in prison for

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Speaker 1: her offending, and he refused her application for permanent name suppression.

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Speaker 1: Eaton had argued that her name being published would have

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Speaker 1: a negative impact on her children, husband, and wider family,

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Speaker 1: who were well established and known in the community, but

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Speaker 1: the judge said that was a natural consequence of offending

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Speaker 1: and something the family were equipped to deal with. Further,

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Speaker 1: her victims did not want their abuser to keep her

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Speaker 1: name secret and their parents were adamant her names should

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Speaker 1: be made public. When the judge rejected the application, Eaton

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Speaker 1: then immediately said the decision would be appealed. That meant

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Speaker 1: Kearney's name suppression automatically kicked in for twenty working days

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Speaker 1: to allow her team time to prepare a case for

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Speaker 1: a higher court to consider. In New Zealand, the court's

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Speaker 1: close over the Christmas in New Year period, so of

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Speaker 1: course that twenty working days was drawn out further than

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Speaker 1: it would be ordinarily. On February four, twenty twenty, very

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Speaker 1: close to the deadline for filing an appeal, the court

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Speaker 1: informed me that Kearney had abandoned her fight for secrecy,

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Speaker 1: meaning she could finally be named. The day after Kearney

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Speaker 1: was jailed, Marlborough Boys College spoke for the first time

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Speaker 1: about the offending. I'd been seeking comment from the chair

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Speaker 1: of the Board of Trustees for some time, but he

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Speaker 1: couldn't say a word before the case was determined in court.

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Speaker 1: In a lengthy statement also provided to the school's parents,

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Speaker 1: the situation was finally addressed. In that statement, the board

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Speaker 1: confirmed concerns were raised two times about Kearney's conduct months

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Speaker 1: before she was arrested, but she offered reasons for her

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Speaker 1: behavior that were deemed plausible, and no action was taken.

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Speaker 1: This meant she could continue offending. An independent review found

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Speaker 1: school staff did not action concerns quickly enough, and if

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Speaker 1: they had, Kearney could have been stopped sooner. The statement

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Speaker 1: spanned four pages. Here is what some of the board

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Speaker 1: chair said. These are his words, voiced by an actor.

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Speaker 2: Firstly, I'd like to acknowledge the impact of the former

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Speaker 2: teacher's actions. Everyone associated with the school is appalled and

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Speaker 2: devastated by the offending. An impact this has had on

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Speaker 2: the students and their families. Her breaches of trust towards

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Speaker 2: all those around her is reprehensible. The person solely responsible

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Speaker 2: for all these appalling acts has been brought to justice. However,

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Speaker 2: we believe that the community requires and deserves full disclosure

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Speaker 2: of the school's actions relating to this matter.

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Speaker 1: The chair said the school was alerted to the allegations

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Speaker 1: against Kearney on May eighth, twenty nineteen. She was immediately

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Speaker 1: placed on leave. She later resigned and her teaching registration

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Speaker 1: was canceled within ten days. The board had engaged a

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Speaker 1: lawyer to undertake an external and independent investigation. The aim

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Speaker 1: of that investigation was to identify what, if anything, was

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Speaker 1: known by the school about Cooney's offending prior to the

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Speaker 1: current allegations. As part of their investigation, the lawyers reviewed

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Speaker 1: a raft of historic and current documentation, as well as

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Speaker 1: undertaking interviews with many staff. Forensic IT analysis was also undertaken.

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Speaker 1: It was established that red flags were raised about Cooney

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Speaker 1: on two occasions. In November twenty eighteen, Kearney's colleagues raised

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Speaker 1: concerns that she had a closeness with students. The board

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Speaker 1: chairman said.

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Speaker 2: But when staff discussed this with her, she had provided

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Speaker 2: plausible reasons, for example, counseling or tutoring of a student.

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Speaker 2: The teacher said that she would alter her behavior accordingly

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Speaker 2: and detail some changes to maintain professional boundaries. In mid

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Speaker 2: February twenty nineteen, a staff member had more serious concerns

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Speaker 2: regarding the teacher's conduct and raised it with a senior

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Speaker 2: staff member. At that time, no further action was taken

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Speaker 2: for a number of reasons. The senior staff member told

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Speaker 2: about the concern did not fully understand the nature of it.

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Speaker 2: A technological issue compounded this as changes in the school's

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00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,159
Speaker 2: IT system meant a notification of a written statement was

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Speaker 2: not received.

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Speaker 1: In the statement, the chairman maintained neither the board or

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Speaker 1: principle had any prior knowledge that Kearney was acting to

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Speaker 1: the detriment of students, or that there was any inappropriate

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Speaker 1: conduct with students. He said, as soon as management heard

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Speaker 1: of these allegations, they acted immediately. The lawyers concluded that

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Speaker 1: staff members at the school did not action concerns quickly enough,

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Speaker 1: and they said going forward, the school must have better

379
00:22:39,880 --> 00:22:43,480
Speaker 1: procedures in place whenever concerns were raised about staff having

380
00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:48,280
Speaker 1: inappropriate or unprofessional behavior, and the reporting of that must

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Speaker 1: be clear and unequivocal.

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Speaker 2: The chairman said, there must never again be a situation

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Speaker 2: where the seriousness of the message is not understood. It

384
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Speaker 2: must never be accept or for a staff member to

385
00:23:01,320 --> 00:23:05,920
Speaker 2: assume that another will deal with the issue further in future.

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00:23:06,000 --> 00:23:10,040
Speaker 2: Any notifications about such incidents or concerns must be in writing.

387
00:23:10,640 --> 00:23:13,119
Speaker 2: It must be shared by email or in hard copy.

388
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Speaker 2: The responsibility remains with the staff member disclosing the concern

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00:23:17,680 --> 00:23:21,959
Speaker 2: and is not lifted until notification is acknowledged, indicating that

390
00:23:22,000 --> 00:23:25,159
Speaker 2: the matter will be dealt with by others. While we

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00:23:25,240 --> 00:23:27,640
Speaker 2: cannot change the result. It is our intention to put

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Speaker 2: in place protections which will ensure that the events of

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Speaker 2: this type do not happen again at our college. While

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Speaker 2: the school's policies are now more robust, had the existing

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Speaker 2: policies been followed and other compounding factor has not arisen,

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00:23:41,760 --> 00:23:45,360
Speaker 2: offending may have come to light earlier. We are very

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Speaker 2: confident that should serious concerns arise in the future, staff

398
00:23:49,040 --> 00:23:51,359
Speaker 2: would be very clear on the actions to be taken.

399
00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,040
Speaker 2: Our parents and community can be assured that the lessons

400
00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:58,080
Speaker 2: have been learnt by everyone working for and in the school,

401
00:23:58,520 --> 00:24:02,639
Speaker 2: the Board of trustees, senior leadership teams, teaching staff and

402
00:24:02,720 --> 00:24:05,960
Speaker 2: support staff, and there will continue to be actions so

403
00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:08,760
Speaker 2: that we are not faced for a similar situation ever again.

404
00:24:09,359 --> 00:24:13,399
Speaker 1: In October twenty twenty, Kearney became eligible for parole, having

405
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,520
Speaker 1: served a third of her total sentence. She appeared before

406
00:24:16,560 --> 00:24:19,159
Speaker 1: the Parole Board that month via audio visual link from

407
00:24:19,240 --> 00:24:23,040
Speaker 1: Utahatta Women's Prison near Wellington. I was granted permission to

408
00:24:23,080 --> 00:24:27,119
Speaker 1: dial into the hearing and report on what happened. Kearney's lawyer,

409
00:24:27,160 --> 00:24:29,919
Speaker 1: Miriam Radditch, said she had been a model prisoner and

410
00:24:30,040 --> 00:24:33,480
Speaker 1: was fully supported by her loving and extensive family, including

411
00:24:33,520 --> 00:24:36,800
Speaker 1: her two young children. Radditch said Kearney had started to

412
00:24:36,840 --> 00:24:40,160
Speaker 1: work to begin to address her offending, but the further

413
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:42,760
Speaker 1: treatment she needed was not available to her in prison.

414
00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,480
Speaker 1: She said for Kearney to participate in the necessary treatment

415
00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:49,440
Speaker 1: for sex offending, she needed to be in the community

416
00:24:49,680 --> 00:24:53,360
Speaker 1: rather than locked up in jail. The Board had requested

417
00:24:53,400 --> 00:24:56,720
Speaker 1: a psychological risk assessment to help determine whether it be

418
00:24:56,760 --> 00:25:00,000
Speaker 1: safe to release Kearney that hadn't been completed in time.

419
00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,280
Speaker 1: The Parole Board Panel convenor said, it is our view

420
00:25:05,400 --> 00:25:07,560
Speaker 1: that we are not able to make a proper assessment

421
00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:10,399
Speaker 1: of Miss Kearney's risk in view of the very serious

422
00:25:10,440 --> 00:25:13,280
Speaker 1: offending which has brought her into prison and the absence

423
00:25:13,320 --> 00:25:17,040
Speaker 1: of a psychological risk assessment. At this time, Miss Kearney

424
00:25:17,080 --> 00:25:20,680
Speaker 1: remains an untreated sex offender. It would be very surprising

425
00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:22,879
Speaker 1: to us if treatment cannot be made available to her

426
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,360
Speaker 1: in prison. In the absence of any treatment, she may

427
00:25:26,400 --> 00:25:30,159
Speaker 1: not meet the statutory test for release on parole. The

428
00:25:30,240 --> 00:25:33,960
Speaker 1: matter was adjourned till November twenty twenty. Kearney thanked the

429
00:25:34,000 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 1: Board for seeing her and said she was realistic about

430
00:25:36,760 --> 00:25:40,720
Speaker 1: her situation. She said, I totally acknowledge I can't get

431
00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:43,200
Speaker 1: fully well on my own. I have done some work,

432
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,439
Speaker 1: but I know any treatment, but I've been told on

433
00:25:45,520 --> 00:25:48,760
Speaker 1: numerous occasions I won't receive it in prison. I'm open

434
00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:52,880
Speaker 1: and willing to any treatment. One of Kearney's supporters also

435
00:25:52,920 --> 00:25:55,720
Speaker 1: addressed the board. I was allowed to report on what

436
00:25:55,800 --> 00:26:00,160
Speaker 1: he said, but not who he was. He said, it's

437
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:02,560
Speaker 1: been by Jamie's side since last year. It's been a

438
00:26:02,600 --> 00:26:05,439
Speaker 1: long road. Obviously a lot of public interest in this.

439
00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,320
Speaker 1: We're ready for her to come home. We're all prepared

440
00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:10,760
Speaker 1: to muck in and do abbit. We've been here for

441
00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,160
Speaker 1: Jamie the whole time, and we'll continue that. Whatever conditions

442
00:26:14,160 --> 00:26:16,400
Speaker 1: you guys put in place, we're willing to abide by that.

443
00:26:17,680 --> 00:26:20,320
Speaker 1: When Kearney appeared before the Board a second time, it

444
00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,240
Speaker 1: was agreed she could be released. The psych report had

445
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:28,439
Speaker 1: been completed and gave the board valuable information. The psychologist stated,

446
00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:31,600
Speaker 1: while there were no risk assessment tools for female sex offenders,

447
00:26:32,040 --> 00:26:36,200
Speaker 1: the risk of Kearney reoffending was low. Her offending occurred

448
00:26:36,240 --> 00:26:39,280
Speaker 1: in a very specific context, and for her to repeat

449
00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:44,280
Speaker 1: the behavior, three factors would need to be present. Those

450
00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,760
Speaker 1: factors were a thread of abandonment, access to teenagers with

451
00:26:47,840 --> 00:26:52,719
Speaker 1: secondary sex characteristics, and a significant deterioration in mood or

452
00:26:52,720 --> 00:26:57,919
Speaker 1: increase in anxiety. Secondary sex characteristics for teenage boys include

453
00:26:57,960 --> 00:27:02,800
Speaker 1: facial hair. The psychologist noted that Kearney was engaging an

454
00:27:02,800 --> 00:27:07,360
Speaker 1: offense parallelling behavior in prison. She was inappropriately seeking validation

455
00:27:07,440 --> 00:27:11,160
Speaker 1: and support from other staff despite engaging with a psychologist

456
00:27:11,160 --> 00:27:14,359
Speaker 1: in the assessment process. Her lawyer said that could be

457
00:27:14,359 --> 00:27:18,520
Speaker 1: addressed with community based rehabilitation and support, but the one

458
00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:21,280
Speaker 1: on one work with the psychologists that had been recommended

459
00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:23,399
Speaker 1: was not likely to be able to take place in

460
00:27:23,400 --> 00:27:27,240
Speaker 1: the prison environment. Kearney's case manager then explained that a

461
00:27:27,320 --> 00:27:31,520
Speaker 1: lack of resources within the prison psychological services meant Kearney

462
00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:34,600
Speaker 1: was considered a low priority and she couldn't confirm that

463
00:27:34,640 --> 00:27:38,400
Speaker 1: the woman would get rehabilitation in prison at all. They

464
00:27:38,440 --> 00:27:41,119
Speaker 1: agreed there was more opportunity for Kearney to get treatment

465
00:27:41,240 --> 00:27:44,520
Speaker 1: in the community, and they suggested a particular program she

466
00:27:44,560 --> 00:27:48,520
Speaker 1: should attend if released. The parole board provided me with

467
00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:51,840
Speaker 1: its final report later on. It said Kearney spoke well

468
00:27:51,880 --> 00:27:53,720
Speaker 1: to the panel and described the stress as she was

469
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,760
Speaker 1: suffering at the time of her offending her personal issues

470
00:27:56,800 --> 00:28:00,199
Speaker 1: and the poor decisions she made. She said she had

471
00:28:00,240 --> 00:28:03,000
Speaker 1: taken on board what the psychologist said and accepted that

472
00:28:03,040 --> 00:28:06,479
Speaker 1: she needed ongoing help. She also admitted that before she

473
00:28:06,520 --> 00:28:09,399
Speaker 1: was jailed, she hadn't been honest with health professionals and

474
00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,560
Speaker 1: failed to fully disclose the extent of her personal issues,

475
00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:16,200
Speaker 1: The board said. Miss Kearney told the board she didn't

476
00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:18,600
Speaker 1: think she could survive on her own, she was vulnerable,

477
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:21,680
Speaker 1: and she sought support from the victims. Miss Kearney told

478
00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,280
Speaker 1: us that recently she has changed her behavior, that she's

479
00:28:24,359 --> 00:28:29,360
Speaker 1: not seeking support and validation inappropriately. Her supporter, who still

480
00:28:29,400 --> 00:28:32,000
Speaker 1: couldn't be named, told the board that he and others

481
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 1: close to her were unaware of the extent of her

482
00:28:34,280 --> 00:28:37,600
Speaker 1: stress and issues. He promised that if she was released,

483
00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,000
Speaker 1: he would ensure that somebody was with her at all times.

484
00:28:41,720 --> 00:28:43,760
Speaker 1: He said he'd been at Kearney's side the whole time,

485
00:28:44,160 --> 00:28:47,080
Speaker 1: continued to support her and wanted to work with her

486
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:51,480
Speaker 1: on her rehabilitation, The board said. Miss Kearney told the

487
00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:54,560
Speaker 1: board she wholeheartedly accepts what she did. She said she

488
00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,120
Speaker 1: was going to go home, keep her head down, get well,

489
00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:01,360
Speaker 1: and love her children and husband. The Board is conscious

490
00:29:01,400 --> 00:29:03,560
Speaker 1: that Miss Kearney is, on the face of it, an

491
00:29:03,640 --> 00:29:07,760
Speaker 1: untreated sex offender. She acknowledges that she has help, that

492
00:29:07,800 --> 00:29:11,880
Speaker 1: she has yet to undertake any rehabilitation. However, we're also

493
00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:15,120
Speaker 1: conscious that it's unlikely she will get any rehabilitation in

494
00:29:15,160 --> 00:29:18,280
Speaker 1: the prison environment, and Miss Kearney and those who support

495
00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,680
Speaker 1: her have prepared a release proposal to address that. The

496
00:29:22,720 --> 00:29:26,680
Speaker 1: Board considers that any undue risk Miss Kearney poses can

497
00:29:26,720 --> 00:29:29,880
Speaker 1: be met by way of release conditions. As such, she

498
00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:33,480
Speaker 1: will be released on parole. Curney was released from prison

499
00:29:33,600 --> 00:29:37,280
Speaker 1: later that month. Her conditions included not having contact or

500
00:29:37,320 --> 00:29:40,760
Speaker 1: associating with anyone under sixteen, apart from her own children

501
00:29:41,200 --> 00:29:44,400
Speaker 1: and other young family members, as approved by her probation officer.

502
00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:47,920
Speaker 1: She was also banned from having any contact or association

503
00:29:48,040 --> 00:29:51,360
Speaker 1: with either of her victims, and from entering or loitering

504
00:29:51,400 --> 00:29:56,080
Speaker 1: near any school only, childhood education center, park, library, swimming pool,

505
00:29:56,480 --> 00:30:00,600
Speaker 1: other recreational facility, or church without the prior written approval

506
00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:05,959
Speaker 1: of her probation officer. In twenty twenty three, it emerged

507
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 1: Kearney had also inappropriately messaged multiple older students at Marlborough

508
00:30:09,880 --> 00:30:14,000
Speaker 1: Boys College, sending the teenagers, nude photographs and discussing drugs

509
00:30:14,040 --> 00:30:17,200
Speaker 1: and self harm. She had admitted to police during their

510
00:30:17,200 --> 00:30:20,120
Speaker 1: investigation that she'd had sexual relations with a number of

511
00:30:20,160 --> 00:30:23,280
Speaker 1: other boys. She was only ever charged in relation to

512
00:30:23,320 --> 00:30:27,040
Speaker 1: the two young teens. Her conduct outside of the criminal

513
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:31,880
Speaker 1: prosecution was assessed by the teacher's disciplinary tribunal. Its decision

514
00:30:31,920 --> 00:30:35,479
Speaker 1: was released publicly in May twenty twenty three and revealed

515
00:30:35,480 --> 00:30:39,040
Speaker 1: that in May twenty nineteen, Cooney began messaging an eighteen

516
00:30:39,120 --> 00:30:43,720
Speaker 1: year old student on Snapchat. The conversation was initially about rugby,

517
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:47,239
Speaker 1: but the teacher then sent photographs of her breasts. She

518
00:30:47,320 --> 00:30:49,200
Speaker 1: later picked the student up in her car and told

519
00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:52,760
Speaker 1: him of her depression. She performed oral sex on that student.

520
00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:56,200
Speaker 1: Days later, while in school, she and the student left

521
00:30:56,240 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 1: in her vehicle. Kearney rubbed the student's private parts, and

522
00:30:59,360 --> 00:31:01,760
Speaker 1: when he told it stop, she replied that he should

523
00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:05,120
Speaker 1: stop being a scaredy cat. She later drove him back

524
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:08,880
Speaker 1: to school. A third incident saw Kearney perform oral sex

525
00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:11,960
Speaker 1: on two students who were in the same car. Also

526
00:31:12,080 --> 00:31:15,000
Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen, Kearney began speaking to a student on

527
00:31:15,040 --> 00:31:18,040
Speaker 1: social media after he messaged her asking for help with

528
00:31:18,080 --> 00:31:22,200
Speaker 1: his English homework. They began messaging regularly and the conversation

529
00:31:22,360 --> 00:31:26,920
Speaker 1: turned sexual. She engaged sexually with that student on more

530
00:31:26,960 --> 00:31:29,960
Speaker 1: than one occasion. She also spoke to him about how

531
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:33,280
Speaker 1: she wanted to self harm. There was another instance of

532
00:31:33,320 --> 00:31:36,480
Speaker 1: the teacher messaging a student about her mental health. The

533
00:31:36,520 --> 00:31:39,479
Speaker 1: tribunal said Kearney would send angry messages to the student

534
00:31:39,520 --> 00:31:42,240
Speaker 1: if he didn't reply to her and apply he was

535
00:31:42,240 --> 00:31:46,160
Speaker 1: in the wrong for doing so. The decision also included

536
00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:50,200
Speaker 1: further instances of Kearney hugging students, calling one beautiful, and

537
00:31:50,240 --> 00:31:53,720
Speaker 1: speaking of self harm and drugs. The decision didn't specify

538
00:31:53,760 --> 00:31:58,160
Speaker 1: how many students she had inappropriately engaged with. The tribunal

539
00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,440
Speaker 1: said Kearney broadly accepted or finding, although there were some

540
00:32:01,480 --> 00:32:05,400
Speaker 1: initial disagreements about some of the particulars. The charge against

541
00:32:05,440 --> 00:32:09,120
Speaker 1: Kearney of serious misconduct was proven, and the tribunal said

542
00:32:09,120 --> 00:32:12,000
Speaker 1: that had she not already had her registration canceled due

543
00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:16,040
Speaker 1: to her criminal convictions, it would have ordered that the

544
00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,760
Speaker 1: sex offender was censured and ordered to pay more than

545
00:32:18,800 --> 00:32:22,120
Speaker 1: six thousand dollars to the tribunal, equating to forty percent

546
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:25,560
Speaker 1: of its costs. I've asked Kearney a number of times

547
00:32:25,560 --> 00:32:28,560
Speaker 1: for an interview, offering her the chance to further explain

548
00:32:28,600 --> 00:32:31,960
Speaker 1: her offending and make a public apology to her victims

549
00:32:31,960 --> 00:32:35,360
Speaker 1: and the boys she harmed. She has refused every time.

550
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,080
Speaker 1: In May twenty nineteen, before I had heard of Coney,

551
00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,959
Speaker 1: and in fact, while she was still sexually engaging with

552
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,240
Speaker 1: an abusing teenage boys, I was about to report on

553
00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:14,520
Speaker 1: another disgraced teacher. This was a man I've been looking

554
00:33:14,520 --> 00:33:18,440
Speaker 1: into since about late twenty eighteen, after a victim contacted

555
00:33:18,480 --> 00:33:20,880
Speaker 1: the newsroom to tell us about the abuse her former

556
00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:24,520
Speaker 1: teacher had subjected her to. Like Kearney, Paul Roger Herrick

557
00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:28,520
Speaker 1: abused numerous children he was employed to educate, protect and careful,

558
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:32,480
Speaker 1: and like Kearney, Herick was only prosecuted in relation to

559
00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:36,480
Speaker 1: a few of those he groomed, manipulated and abused. On

560
00:33:36,520 --> 00:33:40,040
Speaker 1: the surface, Herrick was a respected and experienced teacher, but

561
00:33:40,160 --> 00:33:43,880
Speaker 1: behind closed doors, in dark corners and empty cloakrooms, he

562
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,920
Speaker 1: was a repeat and regular sex offender who abused little

563
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:51,120
Speaker 1: boys and girls to fulfill his desires, silencing them with

564
00:33:51,200 --> 00:33:56,120
Speaker 1: terrifying threats of violence. Of almost three decades, Eric started

565
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 1: to sexually abuse children soon after he was certified as

566
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:01,840
Speaker 1: a teacher in the nineteen sixties. It was easy to

567
00:34:01,880 --> 00:34:04,360
Speaker 1: get them alone. He'd tell them to staff to class

568
00:34:04,800 --> 00:34:07,520
Speaker 1: that they needed to be disciplined, and once he got

569
00:34:07,560 --> 00:34:09,960
Speaker 1: them on their own, he subjected them to and forced

570
00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:14,920
Speaker 1: them to participate in disgusting and deviant sexual acts. Some

571
00:34:14,960 --> 00:34:17,279
Speaker 1: of the children told their parents, and some of the

572
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:21,120
Speaker 1: parents confronted the schools, but those complaints were not actioned,

573
00:34:21,520 --> 00:34:24,560
Speaker 1: and it wasn't until nineteen ninety three, by which time

574
00:34:24,600 --> 00:34:27,600
Speaker 1: Herrick had been teaching across the country and had multiple

575
00:34:27,800 --> 00:34:31,840
Speaker 1: principal and deputy roles, that he was finally stopped. He

576
00:34:31,920 --> 00:34:35,319
Speaker 1: could and should have been stopped sooner. Had action been

577
00:34:35,360 --> 00:34:38,160
Speaker 1: taken in the early years, Herrick's reign of abuse would

578
00:34:38,200 --> 00:34:41,520
Speaker 1: not have spanned almost three decades. So how did this

579
00:34:41,560 --> 00:34:45,240
Speaker 1: offender get away with it? Why were police not involved sooner?

580
00:34:45,960 --> 00:34:48,440
Speaker 1: And how did a man with sickoning sexual appetites for

581
00:34:48,480 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 1: New Zealand's most vulnerable manage not only to keep his job,

582
00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:54,799
Speaker 1: but to rise to the top of it. That's what

583
00:34:54,880 --> 00:34:57,439
Speaker 1: his victim wanted to know, and that's what I said

584
00:34:57,480 --> 00:35:00,000
Speaker 1: about finding out. When Herrick was jailed for a fourth

585
00:35:00,160 --> 00:35:05,239
Speaker 1: time for child sex offending. Hereck was first registered in

586
00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:09,439
Speaker 1: nineteen sixty five and continued teaching until June nineteen ninety three,

587
00:35:09,920 --> 00:35:12,799
Speaker 1: when he was suspended as police investigated the first raft

588
00:35:12,840 --> 00:35:16,399
Speaker 1: of sexual allegations against him. He's not taught since then.

589
00:35:17,120 --> 00:35:20,280
Speaker 1: During his career, Herrick taught at many schools across New Zealand.

590
00:35:20,880 --> 00:35:23,560
Speaker 1: At two he was deputy principal, and at Sex he

591
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:27,080
Speaker 1: was principal. There may have been other schools too. There

592
00:35:27,120 --> 00:35:29,920
Speaker 1: is a gap in Herrick's official teaching record from nineteen

593
00:35:30,000 --> 00:35:33,880
Speaker 1: seventy two to nineteen seventy six. There is also no

594
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:36,279
Speaker 1: record on his employment file of the reasons he left

595
00:35:36,320 --> 00:35:40,359
Speaker 1: each school. No record of anything untoward at all, but

596
00:35:40,440 --> 00:35:43,680
Speaker 1: people knew. Many people in the community were aware of

597
00:35:43,719 --> 00:35:48,560
Speaker 1: the abuse, or at least the whispers and allegations. One

598
00:35:48,560 --> 00:35:50,720
Speaker 1: of his victims told me that she and other kids

599
00:35:50,719 --> 00:35:53,600
Speaker 1: told their parents what he was doing. Some parents went

600
00:35:53,640 --> 00:35:56,960
Speaker 1: to speak to the school. When I was researching this case,

601
00:35:57,000 --> 00:36:00,080
Speaker 1: the Ministry of Education carried out a thorough check of

602
00:36:00,160 --> 00:36:03,799
Speaker 1: all individual school files where Herrick was employed and their

603
00:36:03,840 --> 00:36:07,520
Speaker 1: own records of complaints against teachers. There was nothing to

604
00:36:07,560 --> 00:36:11,840
Speaker 1: indicate there had been any concerns raised or allegations made.

605
00:36:11,920 --> 00:36:14,680
Speaker 1: A spokeswoman said she couldn't confirm when the Ministry was

606
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:18,239
Speaker 1: notified of Herrick's offending. The first mention of it in

607
00:36:18,280 --> 00:36:21,160
Speaker 1: his file was June nineteen ninety three, when the board

608
00:36:21,200 --> 00:36:23,759
Speaker 1: of trustees at his last school reported Herrick had been

609
00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:28,640
Speaker 1: suspended on full pay pending legal proceedings. The courts allowed

610
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:32,360
Speaker 1: me access to Herrick's file, which revealed the full litany

611
00:36:32,360 --> 00:36:35,640
Speaker 1: of his offending, or at least the offending known to date.

612
00:36:36,920 --> 00:36:40,640
Speaker 1: So far, Herrick has been convicted of offending against eighteen people.

613
00:36:41,640 --> 00:36:44,360
Speaker 1: Herreck was first jailed for sex crimes against children on

614
00:36:44,400 --> 00:36:47,160
Speaker 1: May nineteen, nineteen ninety four, in the High Court at

615
00:36:47,160 --> 00:36:51,400
Speaker 1: Palmerston North. He denied charges of sexual violation and decent

616
00:36:51,400 --> 00:36:55,359
Speaker 1: assault relating to children under twelve between nineteen seventy two

617
00:36:55,640 --> 00:36:58,960
Speaker 1: and nineteen eighty six. Following a trial, though Herrick was

618
00:36:59,000 --> 00:37:02,399
Speaker 1: convicted on all counts by a jury, he was sent

619
00:37:02,440 --> 00:37:05,120
Speaker 1: to prison for five years and is fall from grace

620
00:37:05,360 --> 00:37:09,520
Speaker 1: and significant loss of Korea was noted by the presiding judge,

621
00:37:09,600 --> 00:37:12,680
Speaker 1: but that judge had no idea. What Herrick was convicted

622
00:37:12,719 --> 00:37:15,320
Speaker 1: of at the time was just the tip of the Iceberg.

623
00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:19,279
Speaker 1: In nineteen eighty seven, Herrick was released from prison. The

624
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,760
Speaker 1: parole Boards said the disgrace teacher had completed intensive treatment

625
00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,719
Speaker 1: for child sex offenders while inside, and it was safe

626
00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,640
Speaker 1: to allow him back into the community. Since leaving prison,

627
00:37:28,680 --> 00:37:31,640
Speaker 1: Herrick has not re offended. However, he did go back

628
00:37:31,680 --> 00:37:34,000
Speaker 1: to jail a number of times as more of his

629
00:37:34,000 --> 00:37:38,640
Speaker 1: historic crimes were uncovered. In twenty fifteen, Herrick was back

630
00:37:38,640 --> 00:37:42,240
Speaker 1: in the dock, this time at Oamaru, entering guilty please

631
00:37:42,280 --> 00:37:45,279
Speaker 1: to two charges of assaulting a boy under ten. This

632
00:37:45,360 --> 00:37:48,600
Speaker 1: offending happened in nineteen eighty two, when Herrick was thirty six.

633
00:37:49,960 --> 00:37:52,080
Speaker 1: Hereck told the little boy to remain after school for

634
00:37:52,120 --> 00:37:55,960
Speaker 1: disciplinary purposes, and after the rest of the class was dismissed,

635
00:37:56,280 --> 00:37:58,360
Speaker 1: he took the boy to the cloak room and sexually

636
00:37:58,400 --> 00:38:03,280
Speaker 1: assaulted him. The boy was terrified, and eventually Herrick stopped

637
00:38:03,280 --> 00:38:06,640
Speaker 1: and told him to go home. Some time later in

638
00:38:06,680 --> 00:38:09,320
Speaker 1: the year, Herrick again told the boy to stay behind.

639
00:38:10,360 --> 00:38:12,560
Speaker 1: This time the assault in the cloak room was much

640
00:38:12,719 --> 00:38:16,200
Speaker 1: more serious. The boy became distressed and Herrick had to

641
00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:19,920
Speaker 1: let him leave. At sentencing, Judge Joanna Mays said the

642
00:38:19,960 --> 00:38:22,760
Speaker 1: betrayal of trust when the teacher offended against a student

643
00:38:23,280 --> 00:38:27,600
Speaker 1: had lifelong consequences for the young victim, including preventing natural

644
00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:32,520
Speaker 1: sexual development. She said the breach of trust is a

645
00:38:32,560 --> 00:38:36,400
Speaker 1: significant factor. Parents are obliged by law to send their

646
00:38:36,480 --> 00:38:39,200
Speaker 1: children to school, so parents need to be sure that

647
00:38:39,239 --> 00:38:43,760
Speaker 1: those to whom they entrust their children are stable and trustworthy.

648
00:38:44,160 --> 00:38:46,919
Speaker 1: Herreck was sentenced to nine months home detention and ordered

649
00:38:46,920 --> 00:38:51,600
Speaker 1: to pay two thousand dollars in reparation. In July twenty sixteen,

650
00:38:51,680 --> 00:38:55,600
Speaker 1: Herrick fronted another courtroom facing another tranch of sex charges,

651
00:38:56,120 --> 00:39:00,000
Speaker 1: and he was handed another jail term the Palmeston North

652
00:39:00,120 --> 00:39:03,520
Speaker 1: District Court. Herrick was sentenced for offending against six victims,

653
00:39:03,920 --> 00:39:07,000
Speaker 1: boys and girls, all under twelve, across three years in

654
00:39:07,040 --> 00:39:11,720
Speaker 1: the early eighties. His offending included sodomy in decent acts

655
00:39:11,760 --> 00:39:16,600
Speaker 1: and decent assaults and inducing indecencies. Judged Jim Large locked

656
00:39:16,600 --> 00:39:20,360
Speaker 1: Herrick up for another four years and nine months. The

657
00:39:20,400 --> 00:39:22,960
Speaker 1: world wouldn't hear about Paul Roger Herrick again until he

658
00:39:23,000 --> 00:39:27,400
Speaker 1: was granted parole in December twenty seventeen. He convinced the

659
00:39:27,400 --> 00:39:29,960
Speaker 1: board he was no longer a danger to children, pointing

660
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,279
Speaker 1: out had been offense free for the past twenty to

661
00:39:32,320 --> 00:39:35,799
Speaker 1: twenty five years. He claimed his mind was obsessed with

662
00:39:35,920 --> 00:39:40,120
Speaker 1: keeping himself and the community safe. Soon after the hearing,

663
00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:43,479
Speaker 1: a story was published outlining his release conditions and sex

664
00:39:43,520 --> 00:39:47,719
Speaker 1: offending history. Soon after that, Herrick got another visit from

665
00:39:47,760 --> 00:39:56,320
Speaker 1: the police. The story about Herrick's parole was published on

666
00:39:56,440 --> 00:39:59,359
Speaker 1: January six and spotted by a woman had taught early

667
00:39:59,400 --> 00:40:03,080
Speaker 1: in his career. She saw the name and recognized the face,

668
00:40:03,239 --> 00:40:06,399
Speaker 1: despite the age that almost fifty years had added to it.

669
00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:10,160
Speaker 1: Her breath caught in her throat. She was immediately back

670
00:40:10,160 --> 00:40:13,719
Speaker 1: in that quiet cloak room, Herrick restraining her, abusing her,

671
00:40:14,360 --> 00:40:16,600
Speaker 1: warning her of the violence that would befall her if

672
00:40:16,640 --> 00:40:19,880
Speaker 1: she told anyone. Until then, she'd never told a soul,

673
00:40:20,400 --> 00:40:23,520
Speaker 1: not her family, not a single friend, not even her husband.

674
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:27,440
Speaker 1: But maybe now it was time. She battled with the

675
00:40:27,480 --> 00:40:30,280
Speaker 1: decision for a while and eventually picked up the phone

676
00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:34,399
Speaker 1: and called police. She and seven others did the same thing,

677
00:40:35,080 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 1: leading to Herrick facing another raft of charges and being

678
00:40:38,080 --> 00:40:41,839
Speaker 1: sent back to prison in twenty eighteen. The woman then

679
00:40:41,880 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 1: reached out to me at the Herald. She wanted to

680
00:40:44,160 --> 00:40:46,839
Speaker 1: talk about her experience and the impact Herrick had had

681
00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:49,840
Speaker 1: on her. Life. She wanted to let other victims know

682
00:40:49,960 --> 00:40:52,399
Speaker 1: it was okay to speck up, no matter how long

683
00:40:52,440 --> 00:40:56,560
Speaker 1: it had been since the abuse. Every victim who contacts

684
00:40:56,600 --> 00:40:59,000
Speaker 1: me to speak about their darkest days and their journey

685
00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,800
Speaker 1: through the justice system does so for a different reason.

686
00:41:02,920 --> 00:41:05,520
Speaker 1: Some want to ensure their abuses names and faces are

687
00:41:05,560 --> 00:41:08,640
Speaker 1: known in the community. Some want to help other victims.

688
00:41:09,200 --> 00:41:11,720
Speaker 1: Some want to create awareness and help educate the public

689
00:41:11,760 --> 00:41:14,680
Speaker 1: about a particular crime or various parts of the investigation

690
00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:18,799
Speaker 1: and prosecution process. Others have been negatively impacted by the

691
00:41:18,960 --> 00:41:22,600
Speaker 1: justice system and want to vent about that. No matter

692
00:41:22,640 --> 00:41:26,520
Speaker 1: what their reason is, each victim's experience is important, and

693
00:41:26,640 --> 00:41:29,000
Speaker 1: the decision to share it with a complete stranger who

694
00:41:29,000 --> 00:41:31,560
Speaker 1: will then share it with the world is courageous and

695
00:41:31,600 --> 00:41:34,279
Speaker 1: often inspiring. I think it's fair to say most of

696
00:41:34,280 --> 00:41:36,839
Speaker 1: the victims I've worked with over almost twenty years as

697
00:41:36,840 --> 00:41:40,239
Speaker 1: a journalist have found the process cathartic. It gives them

698
00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:42,600
Speaker 1: a sense of closure, It gives them a voice and

699
00:41:42,719 --> 00:41:45,279
Speaker 1: allows them to finally take the control and power back

700
00:41:45,280 --> 00:41:48,239
Speaker 1: from the creatures who hurt them. They get the last

701
00:41:48,280 --> 00:41:52,320
Speaker 1: word on their terms. That has always been an incredibly

702
00:41:52,360 --> 00:41:55,640
Speaker 1: hard but humbling part of my job. I'm in constant

703
00:41:55,680 --> 00:41:58,120
Speaker 1: awe of what people can survive, and it is a

704
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:00,480
Speaker 1: privilege to work with each and every one to get

705
00:42:00,480 --> 00:42:04,400
Speaker 1: their particular message out there. I can remember here expected

706
00:42:04,560 --> 00:42:07,920
Speaker 1: was extremely nervous. Her family still knew nothing of the abuse.

707
00:42:08,560 --> 00:42:11,080
Speaker 1: She still hadn't told her husband, and she'd made excuses

708
00:42:11,080 --> 00:42:14,000
Speaker 1: about where she was going to attend court. She was

709
00:42:14,000 --> 00:42:17,520
Speaker 1: so traumatized by what her teacher had done, so deeply affected.

710
00:42:18,680 --> 00:42:21,040
Speaker 1: I met her at a cafe halfway between Auckland and

711
00:42:21,080 --> 00:42:23,640
Speaker 1: the town she lived, so no one would see us together.

712
00:42:24,600 --> 00:42:26,760
Speaker 1: She was shaking as she started to tell her story,

713
00:42:27,320 --> 00:42:29,719
Speaker 1: a story that could have been the last if she

714
00:42:29,719 --> 00:42:32,200
Speaker 1: had been listened to, if her it had been stopped

715
00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:35,200
Speaker 1: at the time, she was just eight when her teacher

716
00:42:35,239 --> 00:42:38,800
Speaker 1: started to abuse her frequently. She said she lived in

717
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,759
Speaker 1: constant fear because she never knew what would set him

718
00:42:41,760 --> 00:42:44,799
Speaker 1: off when it would come for her next. This is

719
00:42:44,840 --> 00:42:48,760
Speaker 1: what she told me. While these are her words for batim,

720
00:42:49,120 --> 00:42:50,440
Speaker 1: this is not her voice.

721
00:42:50,920 --> 00:42:53,920
Speaker 3: I was convinced I was the only one. When I

722
00:42:53,920 --> 00:42:56,440
Speaker 3: saw an article in the paper last year, it absolutely

723
00:42:56,480 --> 00:42:59,799
Speaker 3: stopped me in my tracks. I realized this man was

724
00:42:59,800 --> 00:43:03,319
Speaker 3: a serial child molester. I feel so sorry for those

725
00:43:03,400 --> 00:43:06,040
Speaker 3: children after me. He should have never been allowed to

726
00:43:06,080 --> 00:43:09,440
Speaker 3: do that, all those victims up and down the country,

727
00:43:09,840 --> 00:43:13,040
Speaker 3: everything he did. I don't know how someone could do

728
00:43:13,160 --> 00:43:16,160
Speaker 3: that to innocent children. I don't know what goes through

729
00:43:16,160 --> 00:43:16,680
Speaker 3: their heads.

730
00:43:17,360 --> 00:43:20,440
Speaker 1: The woman said Herrick would abuse her, then threatened to

731
00:43:20,480 --> 00:43:23,360
Speaker 1: hurt her physically if she told anyone. He walked her

732
00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,080
Speaker 1: up to a gillotine in the classroom used for cutting paper,

733
00:43:26,560 --> 00:43:29,279
Speaker 1: and sliced through a sheet to demonstrate how sharp the

734
00:43:29,280 --> 00:43:29,840
Speaker 1: blade was.

735
00:43:30,520 --> 00:43:33,560
Speaker 3: She said, he told me that if I told anyone

736
00:43:33,600 --> 00:43:35,480
Speaker 3: what he was doing to me, he would put my

737
00:43:35,560 --> 00:43:38,160
Speaker 3: thumb in there and slice it off. He put a

738
00:43:38,160 --> 00:43:40,319
Speaker 3: piece of paper in there and sliced it to show

739
00:43:40,320 --> 00:43:44,040
Speaker 3: me he was serious. He was vicious, and this was

740
00:43:44,080 --> 00:43:47,200
Speaker 3: what we had to live with. I believed him. I

741
00:43:47,280 --> 00:43:49,480
Speaker 3: never spoke about it until I spoke to Jimmy at

742
00:43:49,480 --> 00:43:53,640
Speaker 3: the police station. It was harrowing going through the evidential interview.

743
00:43:54,080 --> 00:43:57,040
Speaker 3: I didn't even tell him everything. I just told him

744
00:43:57,160 --> 00:43:59,440
Speaker 3: enough to make it clear that what this man was

745
00:43:59,480 --> 00:44:03,200
Speaker 3: doing was so wrong enough to get convictions. I could

746
00:44:03,239 --> 00:44:06,319
Speaker 3: only report what I could clearly remember, But there was more.

747
00:44:07,120 --> 00:44:09,640
Speaker 3: It turned out that the bloody bastard was molesting the

748
00:44:09,640 --> 00:44:12,759
Speaker 3: boys as well as the girls. We were all terrified

749
00:44:12,800 --> 00:44:16,200
Speaker 3: of him, terrified of doing the wrong thing because we

750
00:44:16,280 --> 00:44:17,480
Speaker 3: knew what he would do to us.

751
00:44:18,040 --> 00:44:20,799
Speaker 1: The woman said she always felt scared at school. She

752
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:23,440
Speaker 1: and her young classmates had a shared terror of Herrick.

753
00:44:23,920 --> 00:44:27,040
Speaker 1: But the reason why I was never voiced. She explained

754
00:44:27,080 --> 00:44:29,000
Speaker 1: that she didn't have a close relationship with her mother,

755
00:44:29,239 --> 00:44:32,040
Speaker 1: so she didn't feel comfortable disclosing what was happening at school,

756
00:44:32,600 --> 00:44:35,000
Speaker 1: and at the time, speaking to her male relatives was

757
00:44:35,160 --> 00:44:38,240
Speaker 1: just not an option, so she kept the abuse to herself.

758
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:41,720
Speaker 3: She told me, I was raised to believe that little

759
00:44:41,719 --> 00:44:44,600
Speaker 3: girls who spoke about men like that were little tramps.

760
00:44:45,120 --> 00:44:47,719
Speaker 3: I thought, oh my god, if I say anything about

761
00:44:47,760 --> 00:44:50,400
Speaker 3: what this man is doing to me, I'm a little tramp.

762
00:44:50,640 --> 00:44:53,759
Speaker 3: And I didn't want that. I was so scared no

763
00:44:53,800 --> 00:44:56,520
Speaker 3: one was going to believe me he was a teacher.

764
00:44:57,360 --> 00:45:00,800
Speaker 1: After initially contacting the police, the victim all almost decided

765
00:45:00,840 --> 00:45:04,239
Speaker 1: against an evidential interview. It was a horrible process, and

766
00:45:04,280 --> 00:45:07,279
Speaker 1: she was so anxious about it, reluctant to relive how

767
00:45:07,320 --> 00:45:10,480
Speaker 1: she felt as a little girl, she explained.

768
00:45:10,520 --> 00:45:12,759
Speaker 3: But then I thought about the other victims, and I

769
00:45:12,840 --> 00:45:15,640
Speaker 3: decided I had to. I thought of the harm that

770
00:45:15,719 --> 00:45:19,080
Speaker 3: he's caused because people didn't stop him, the silence that

771
00:45:19,160 --> 00:45:22,280
Speaker 3: we lived in. I'm ashamed. I never had the courage

772
00:45:22,280 --> 00:45:25,240
Speaker 3: to tell anyone about it earlier. But back then little

773
00:45:25,239 --> 00:45:28,560
Speaker 3: girls who spoke up against grand men were troublemakers, so

774
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:29,719
Speaker 3: I just got on with it.

775
00:45:30,200 --> 00:45:33,000
Speaker 1: When Hereck was sentenced for the last time by Judge Creighton,

776
00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:35,600
Speaker 1: the woman was in court, facing him for the first

777
00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:38,880
Speaker 1: time since primary school. She read an impact statement. She

778
00:45:38,920 --> 00:45:41,400
Speaker 1: said he showed no emotional empathy. There was not a

779
00:45:41,400 --> 00:45:43,520
Speaker 1: flicker of feeling on his face as she described the

780
00:45:43,560 --> 00:45:47,759
Speaker 1: turmoil and devastation had caused. The judge later allowed me

781
00:45:47,800 --> 00:45:50,880
Speaker 1: to access court documents that reveal more about Herrick's crimes.

782
00:45:51,560 --> 00:45:54,399
Speaker 1: The file revealed that one sexual assault only stopped when

783
00:45:54,400 --> 00:45:58,120
Speaker 1: Herrick's own daughter disturbed him. Hereck told another girl he

784
00:45:58,160 --> 00:46:00,640
Speaker 1: would throw her through a reinforced glass door if she

785
00:46:00,680 --> 00:46:04,120
Speaker 1: told anyone about the abuse. A lot of the offending

786
00:46:04,160 --> 00:46:06,680
Speaker 1: happened in the cloak room after Herrick made sure no

787
00:46:06,800 --> 00:46:10,000
Speaker 1: other children or teachers were nearby. In one case, the

788
00:46:10,040 --> 00:46:12,760
Speaker 1: assault only stopped when the child managed to run away.

789
00:46:14,120 --> 00:46:17,560
Speaker 1: In court, the judge said, the offending against children is

790
00:46:17,600 --> 00:46:21,279
Speaker 1: offending against our most precious commodity. Here it can be

791
00:46:21,320 --> 00:46:24,560
Speaker 1: described as someone who, over an eighteen year period preyed

792
00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:28,240
Speaker 1: on children, children who was supposed to teach, protect and nurture.

793
00:46:29,480 --> 00:46:32,600
Speaker 1: He rejected the suggestion of home detention and said prison

794
00:46:32,680 --> 00:46:35,319
Speaker 1: was the only place Herrick was going after court that day.

795
00:46:36,000 --> 00:46:39,239
Speaker 1: He said it would be an inadequate response to what

796
00:46:39,320 --> 00:46:41,839
Speaker 1: can only be described as a serious set of offenses

797
00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:44,880
Speaker 1: and would likely give the unfortunate impression that if you

798
00:46:44,920 --> 00:46:47,040
Speaker 1: can keep your offending quiet for long enough so that

799
00:46:47,040 --> 00:46:49,640
Speaker 1: it's revealed only in dribs and drabs, you may be

800
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:52,040
Speaker 1: able to benefit by having the sentence commuted to home

801
00:46:52,080 --> 00:46:55,359
Speaker 1: detention on one or more occasions. I have to take

802
00:46:55,400 --> 00:46:58,600
Speaker 1: into account that this was part of very large scale offending.

803
00:46:59,400 --> 00:47:01,719
Speaker 1: Had you appear in court in the mid nineties, when

804
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,080
Speaker 1: all of these matters would have come together, you would

805
00:47:04,120 --> 00:47:06,239
Speaker 1: have faced the court as probably one of the most

806
00:47:06,239 --> 00:47:09,600
Speaker 1: significant offenders of a sexual nature that had appeared in

807
00:47:09,600 --> 00:47:13,640
Speaker 1: New Zealand of that time. Judge Creighton had a strong

808
00:47:13,680 --> 00:47:17,719
Speaker 1: message for Heirck's victims. He told Herrick they were in

809
00:47:17,800 --> 00:47:21,680
Speaker 1: no way responsible for your offending. I also make extremely

810
00:47:21,719 --> 00:47:23,839
Speaker 1: clear that none of your victims should feel in any

811
00:47:23,880 --> 00:47:26,600
Speaker 1: way that they have assisted you in further offending by

812
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:28,960
Speaker 1: the fact they did not feel able to pursue matters

813
00:47:29,120 --> 00:47:31,959
Speaker 1: back in the late sixties and early seventies. What comes

814
00:47:32,000 --> 00:47:34,520
Speaker 1: up glaringly from this case is that there were matters

815
00:47:34,520 --> 00:47:37,600
Speaker 1: brought to the attention of schools, but you, your sadess,

816
00:47:37,640 --> 00:47:40,840
Speaker 1: their vulnerability, and their lack of status meant that whatever

817
00:47:40,920 --> 00:47:43,520
Speaker 1: had happened at that stage, you would not have been stopped.

818
00:47:44,360 --> 00:47:46,480
Speaker 1: We are fortunate today that we would have a far

819
00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:50,000
Speaker 1: more protective and proactive approach to such complaints. But none

820
00:47:50,040 --> 00:47:52,440
Speaker 1: of your victims should feel in any way that they

821
00:47:52,440 --> 00:47:55,960
Speaker 1: have had any responsibility for any of your offending against

822
00:47:56,000 --> 00:48:00,680
Speaker 1: anyone else. That falls plainly at your door. Judge Creton

823
00:48:00,719 --> 00:48:03,120
Speaker 1: sent Hereck back to prison for twenty one and a

824
00:48:03,160 --> 00:48:06,480
Speaker 1: half months. The victim I spoke to said she chose

825
00:48:06,520 --> 00:48:09,120
Speaker 1: to share her abuse in the hopes that anyone else

826
00:48:09,160 --> 00:48:12,120
Speaker 1: harboring a dark secret like she had, felt empowered to

827
00:48:12,160 --> 00:48:15,319
Speaker 1: come forward. Mostly, she wanted to make sure herrec could

828
00:48:15,400 --> 00:48:17,960
Speaker 1: never harm another child again, and give a voice to

829
00:48:18,000 --> 00:48:21,000
Speaker 1: those who were silenced, not heard, and not believed in

830
00:48:21,040 --> 00:48:23,880
Speaker 1: the past. The victim said she had struggled with the

831
00:48:23,960 --> 00:48:26,959
Speaker 1: abuse over the years, especially the feeling that she could

832
00:48:27,000 --> 00:48:30,480
Speaker 1: never speak about it. She said, this will.

833
00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:32,879
Speaker 3: Be with me for the rest of my life. There

834
00:48:32,960 --> 00:48:36,040
Speaker 3: is no way I will ever fully forget it. But

835
00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:38,880
Speaker 3: I have had a good life, a productive life, and

836
00:48:38,920 --> 00:48:42,200
Speaker 3: a happy life. Despite all of this, I have to

837
00:48:42,239 --> 00:48:45,920
Speaker 3: move on. I just wanted to be believed. Some of

838
00:48:45,960 --> 00:48:48,600
Speaker 3: the children told their parents and they went to the school.

839
00:48:49,120 --> 00:48:51,560
Speaker 3: It was swept under the carpet and he was allowed

840
00:48:51,600 --> 00:48:55,080
Speaker 3: to keep teaching us. He went on to become a principal.

841
00:48:56,120 --> 00:48:58,879
Speaker 3: The more he went on, the more skilled he got

842
00:48:58,880 --> 00:49:01,800
Speaker 3: at keeping it a secret. He should have been stopped

843
00:49:01,800 --> 00:49:02,640
Speaker 3: in the sixties.

844
00:49:03,400 --> 00:49:06,040
Speaker 1: Detective Jimmy Walker was the police officer who worked on

845
00:49:06,080 --> 00:49:09,800
Speaker 1: the final investigation into Herrick. He told me he'd also

846
00:49:09,840 --> 00:49:12,480
Speaker 1: located a number of potential victims who chose not to

847
00:49:12,520 --> 00:49:17,719
Speaker 1: make formal complaints. He described Herrick's offending as significant, particularly

848
00:49:17,719 --> 00:49:21,239
Speaker 1: given the almost fifty year gap between the abuse and disclosure.

849
00:49:22,040 --> 00:49:26,040
Speaker 1: He said, this investigation and the subsequent convictions show that

850
00:49:26,080 --> 00:49:29,120
Speaker 1: sexual offenders can be held to account regardless of the

851
00:49:29,160 --> 00:49:31,799
Speaker 1: passage of time, and I would urge victims not to

852
00:49:31,800 --> 00:49:35,400
Speaker 1: be discouraged from disclosing offending against them simply because of

853
00:49:35,400 --> 00:49:38,600
Speaker 1: a time gap. It's not easy for victims to disclose

854
00:49:38,600 --> 00:49:42,200
Speaker 1: difficult childhood experiences, especially when it may be the first

855
00:49:42,200 --> 00:50:11,040
Speaker 1: time they've ever spoken of the offending to anyone. Over

856
00:50:11,080 --> 00:50:13,640
Speaker 1: the years, I have covered many cases of child sex

857
00:50:13,640 --> 00:50:17,239
Speaker 1: offending of people in positions of trust and power, taking

858
00:50:17,280 --> 00:50:19,920
Speaker 1: advantage of people in their care and subjecting them to

859
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:26,040
Speaker 1: awful and vile abuse parents, caregivers, coaches, dance instructors, music tutors,

860
00:50:26,080 --> 00:50:30,920
Speaker 1: youth workers, and volunteers. Every offense against a child is repulsive.

861
00:50:31,600 --> 00:50:35,239
Speaker 1: Every person behind that offense is repugnant, and when it's

862
00:50:35,280 --> 00:50:38,520
Speaker 1: a teacher, a person parents must legally hand their kids

863
00:50:38,520 --> 00:50:41,080
Speaker 1: over to for eight or more hours a day, it

864
00:50:41,200 --> 00:50:44,520
Speaker 1: is a particular kind of sickening. One of the worst

865
00:50:44,760 --> 00:50:47,480
Speaker 1: both of my reporting career and in New Zealand history,

866
00:50:48,080 --> 00:50:52,080
Speaker 1: was a predator named James Robertson Parker. In twenty thirteen,

867
00:50:52,200 --> 00:50:55,600
Speaker 1: Parker was sentenced to preventive detention, meaning that even if

868
00:50:55,600 --> 00:50:58,200
Speaker 1: he is released on parole, he remains under the management

869
00:50:58,239 --> 00:51:01,800
Speaker 1: of corrections until the day he dies. He had earlier

870
00:51:01,840 --> 00:51:05,640
Speaker 1: pleaded guilty to seventy four charges of sexually abusing little

871
00:51:05,640 --> 00:51:09,839
Speaker 1: boys over thirteen years. Most of the boys were from

872
00:51:09,880 --> 00:51:13,719
Speaker 1: moory and or low socioeconomic families and had been put

873
00:51:13,719 --> 00:51:16,680
Speaker 1: in the care of Parker, the local school principle to

874
00:51:16,719 --> 00:51:21,120
Speaker 1: alleviate family stress. Like Keoney and Herrick, Parker could have

875
00:51:21,200 --> 00:51:24,640
Speaker 1: been stopped many years earlier, but nobody took concerns about

876
00:51:24,719 --> 00:51:28,719
Speaker 1: him seriously. Parker's story begins in the late nineties when

877
00:51:28,719 --> 00:51:30,759
Speaker 1: he was still a young teacher in training at a

878
00:51:30,800 --> 00:51:33,680
Speaker 1: small school in the far North. He was well liked

879
00:51:33,719 --> 00:51:36,719
Speaker 1: in the school in wider community, and principal Fiona love

880
00:51:36,760 --> 00:51:40,480
Speaker 1: At Davis thought the young educator had great potential, but

881
00:51:40,600 --> 00:51:43,560
Speaker 1: soon she began to see red flags. The school was

882
00:51:43,600 --> 00:51:47,560
Speaker 1: in an area where many families struggled financially. Parker often

883
00:51:47,600 --> 00:51:49,960
Speaker 1: had pupils to sad his house took of parents a

884
00:51:50,000 --> 00:51:53,120
Speaker 1: bit of reprieve. They were more than happy for the

885
00:51:53,160 --> 00:51:55,520
Speaker 1: youngsters to go and stay with the man they affectionately

886
00:51:55,560 --> 00:51:59,000
Speaker 1: called Jamie. He was a nice man, clean cart and trustworthy.

887
00:51:59,360 --> 00:52:01,719
Speaker 1: The kids like and he lived with his girlfriend, who

888
00:52:01,760 --> 00:52:03,840
Speaker 1: was a teacher ade at the same school, so he

889
00:52:03,920 --> 00:52:08,000
Speaker 1: was considered normal and safe. One day, Parker's girlfriend told

890
00:52:08,000 --> 00:52:11,319
Speaker 1: Fiona that when pupil stayed at their home, Parker would

891
00:52:11,360 --> 00:52:14,200
Speaker 1: often sleep in the same room with them or let

892
00:52:14,200 --> 00:52:18,160
Speaker 1: them sleep in his bed. Fiona would later say Parker

893
00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:21,279
Speaker 1: was a delightful young man, relaxed, sober. We all loved

894
00:52:21,320 --> 00:52:23,720
Speaker 1: him and felt he brought some special qualities to our school.

895
00:52:24,280 --> 00:52:26,399
Speaker 1: I did not have any reason to believe he would

896
00:52:26,440 --> 00:52:29,759
Speaker 1: become a pedophile. He was kind of gormless and asexual.

897
00:52:31,000 --> 00:52:33,680
Speaker 1: But she was concerned about what his girlfriend told her

898
00:52:34,000 --> 00:52:37,799
Speaker 1: and felt compelled to report the information to police. None

899
00:52:37,840 --> 00:52:40,520
Speaker 1: of the boys were spoken to, though A police youth

900
00:52:40,560 --> 00:52:43,359
Speaker 1: ad worker confronted Parker in the school car park about

901
00:52:43,360 --> 00:52:47,359
Speaker 1: the allegations, but nothing more was done. The same year,

902
00:52:47,400 --> 00:52:50,080
Speaker 1: a schoolboy went to police and made a complaint about Parker.

903
00:52:50,560 --> 00:52:53,560
Speaker 1: He was interviewed for an hour by a police specialist interviewer.

904
00:52:53,920 --> 00:52:57,520
Speaker 1: During that interview, he retracted his claims. Police spoke to

905
00:52:57,560 --> 00:53:01,440
Speaker 1: Parker too, giving him every opportunity unity to confess, but

906
00:53:01,480 --> 00:53:06,320
Speaker 1: he strongly denied any allegations of abuse. Without evidence, Parker

907
00:53:06,400 --> 00:53:09,560
Speaker 1: could not be prosecuted. Before that point, no one in

908
00:53:09,560 --> 00:53:13,440
Speaker 1: the school community had any suspicions about him. Many people

909
00:53:13,440 --> 00:53:16,480
Speaker 1: turned on Fiona, accusing her of having a vendetta against

910
00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:20,800
Speaker 1: Parker and berating her for causing him trouble. Her concerns

911
00:53:20,880 --> 00:53:23,840
Speaker 1: never faded, though, and she later refused to support Parker's

912
00:53:23,880 --> 00:53:27,440
Speaker 1: application to become a fully registered teacher. She went as

913
00:53:27,440 --> 00:53:30,040
Speaker 1: far to warn the principle at his next school. It

914
00:53:30,040 --> 00:53:33,960
Speaker 1: seems that principle mistook her concerns, believing Fiona was worried

915
00:53:33,960 --> 00:53:38,960
Speaker 1: about Parker violating multicultural practices rather than potential sexual offending.

916
00:53:40,040 --> 00:53:42,520
Speaker 1: He went on to give a formal recommendation that Parker

917
00:53:42,560 --> 00:53:46,399
Speaker 1: become a fully registered teacher. In two thousand and nine,

918
00:53:46,600 --> 00:53:49,920
Speaker 1: two boys made allegations that Parker had sexually abused them.

919
00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:53,560
Speaker 1: They were interviewed twice by police. The second time they

920
00:53:53,600 --> 00:53:56,960
Speaker 1: retracted their claims. Police sent a letter to the school

921
00:53:57,120 --> 00:53:59,680
Speaker 1: urging that Parker's habit of taking children to his home

922
00:53:59,840 --> 00:54:03,560
Speaker 1: was inappropriate and of concern. No further action was taken

923
00:54:03,600 --> 00:54:07,759
Speaker 1: by police or the school, if only they had done more.

924
00:54:08,640 --> 00:54:11,560
Speaker 1: In twenty twelve, another boy came forward and made a

925
00:54:11,600 --> 00:54:15,799
Speaker 1: fresh allegation against Parker. This led to a proper investigation.

926
00:54:16,480 --> 00:54:19,440
Speaker 1: By August that year, Parker was facing forty nine charges

927
00:54:19,480 --> 00:54:23,359
Speaker 1: of sexual abuse. He pleaded guilty to all of them.

928
00:54:23,560 --> 00:54:25,920
Speaker 1: His case was being heard in the Fargareay District Court,

929
00:54:26,280 --> 00:54:29,920
Speaker 1: but after Parker admitted the offending, the presiding judge declined

930
00:54:30,000 --> 00:54:33,320
Speaker 1: jurisdiction and transferred the case to the High Court for sentencing.

931
00:54:34,320 --> 00:54:37,320
Speaker 1: The purpose of that was so preventive detention could be considered.

932
00:54:38,360 --> 00:54:40,600
Speaker 1: That's a sentence that can only be handed down on

933
00:54:40,600 --> 00:54:44,360
Speaker 1: the High Court. By the time Parker's sentencing date arrived,

934
00:54:44,640 --> 00:54:47,960
Speaker 1: another twenty five charges had been laid against him relating

935
00:54:48,000 --> 00:54:51,640
Speaker 1: to another group of victims. When the first allegations were made,

936
00:54:51,680 --> 00:54:55,080
Speaker 1: the community was horrified. When the extent of the offending

937
00:54:55,120 --> 00:54:58,040
Speaker 1: was revealed, there was anger, outrage, and a lot of

938
00:54:58,080 --> 00:55:02,520
Speaker 1: guilt urached that over the years, as his first principle

939
00:55:02,560 --> 00:55:06,920
Speaker 1: had feared, Parker was targeting children from impoverished and vulnerable homes.

940
00:55:07,640 --> 00:55:11,279
Speaker 1: He embartered them to Sadus House, an isolated farmhouse in Ahipada,

941
00:55:11,360 --> 00:55:14,440
Speaker 1: under the guise of teaching them, but there was no educating,

942
00:55:14,800 --> 00:55:19,200
Speaker 1: just sexual abuse. The seventy four charges included twenty five

943
00:55:19,280 --> 00:55:22,160
Speaker 1: of Parker doing indecent acts with boys under the age

944
00:55:22,160 --> 00:55:25,480
Speaker 1: of twelve and thirty five of indecent acts on boys

945
00:55:25,640 --> 00:55:29,560
Speaker 1: age between twelve and sixteen. The rest of the charges

946
00:55:29,600 --> 00:55:33,200
Speaker 1: were for unlawful sexual connection and sexual violation of boys

947
00:55:33,239 --> 00:55:36,680
Speaker 1: all under sixteen and many under twelve. Many of the

948
00:55:36,760 --> 00:55:41,280
Speaker 1: charges were representative, meaning police believe Parker committed multiple offenses

949
00:55:41,320 --> 00:55:44,880
Speaker 1: of the same type in similar circumstances. In total, the

950
00:55:44,960 --> 00:55:49,080
Speaker 1: charges related to upwards of three hundred offenses. Most of

951
00:55:49,120 --> 00:55:51,600
Speaker 1: the offending occurred in the period between two thousand and

952
00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:55,160
Speaker 1: six and twenty twelve, although there were two charges relating

953
00:55:55,160 --> 00:55:58,760
Speaker 1: to abuse. In nineteen ninety nine, I traveled to Fangrey

954
00:55:58,840 --> 00:56:01,680
Speaker 1: to attend Parker's sentence. I sat in the High Court

955
00:56:01,719 --> 00:56:04,320
Speaker 1: as just as Paul Heath heard about the profound and

956
00:56:04,440 --> 00:56:07,760
Speaker 1: permanent damage and hurt the teacher had caused innocent boys.

957
00:56:09,239 --> 00:56:12,440
Speaker 1: I watched devastated parents, watching the man that trusted to

958
00:56:12,480 --> 00:56:15,160
Speaker 1: look after their children as they listened to the details

959
00:56:15,160 --> 00:56:17,759
Speaker 1: of what he actually did to them. It was a

960
00:56:17,800 --> 00:56:20,600
Speaker 1: grueling day, but it was incredibly important to make sure

961
00:56:20,640 --> 00:56:23,799
Speaker 1: the facts of the case were reported in full. For

962
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:26,959
Speaker 1: the first time, details of Parker's personal life could also

963
00:56:27,000 --> 00:56:30,759
Speaker 1: be published. The court heard Parker had a strained relationship

964
00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:33,200
Speaker 1: with his father while growing up in a strict Christian

965
00:56:33,280 --> 00:56:36,920
Speaker 1: home when he was thirteen. He recognized that he liked boys,

966
00:56:37,400 --> 00:56:41,200
Speaker 1: but suppressed his feelings because in his home, homosexuality was

967
00:56:41,239 --> 00:56:45,239
Speaker 1: an abomination. Who was unable to establish and maintain age

968
00:56:45,239 --> 00:56:49,040
Speaker 1: appropriate relationships and targeted boys who were vulnerable to his

969
00:56:49,120 --> 00:56:53,000
Speaker 1: sexual advances. He recognized many years ago that his sexual

970
00:56:53,040 --> 00:56:57,560
Speaker 1: preferences were a problem, but never sought help. Parker acknowledged

971
00:56:57,600 --> 00:57:00,520
Speaker 1: his victims were all boys from troubled homes or bass.

972
00:57:01,360 --> 00:57:04,640
Speaker 1: The offending against each boy started with hugging, touching, and

973
00:57:04,680 --> 00:57:07,520
Speaker 1: spooning when they spent nights at his farm. They'd sleep

974
00:57:07,520 --> 00:57:09,600
Speaker 1: in the lounge together to watch TV after a day

975
00:57:09,600 --> 00:57:13,160
Speaker 1: of quad biking or other activities that magnetize the boys

976
00:57:13,200 --> 00:57:15,759
Speaker 1: to the property. After the lights were turned off, the

977
00:57:15,800 --> 00:57:20,640
Speaker 1: sexual abuse would occur. At sentencing, the court heard from

978
00:57:20,680 --> 00:57:23,240
Speaker 1: some of the boys and their parents. They spoke of

979
00:57:23,280 --> 00:57:26,880
Speaker 1: the deep and lasting damage Parker had caused, the destruction

980
00:57:26,960 --> 00:57:31,600
Speaker 1: of childhoods and educations, and the devastation of families. One

981
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:33,880
Speaker 1: boy said he first met Parker in two thousand and eight.

982
00:57:34,440 --> 00:57:37,720
Speaker 1: An abuse occurred the next year. He said, I told

983
00:57:37,720 --> 00:57:39,480
Speaker 1: some of my own family members about it, but they

984
00:57:39,520 --> 00:57:43,040
Speaker 1: didn't believe me. They told me I was lying. I

985
00:57:43,080 --> 00:57:46,040
Speaker 1: remember them saying he wouldn't do that. This made me

986
00:57:46,080 --> 00:57:49,080
Speaker 1: start to hate my family because they believed you over me.

987
00:57:50,160 --> 00:57:53,160
Speaker 1: Even now, my relationships with my family isn't good. I

988
00:57:53,160 --> 00:57:55,240
Speaker 1: had a lot of anger inside and ended up smoking

989
00:57:55,240 --> 00:57:57,840
Speaker 1: cigarettes and even weed to try and forget what you

990
00:57:58,000 --> 00:58:01,200
Speaker 1: did to me, I said. After he spoke up about

991
00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:04,080
Speaker 1: the abuse, Parker pulled him out of class and told

992
00:58:04,160 --> 00:58:05,880
Speaker 1: him he could lose his job because of what the

993
00:58:05,920 --> 00:58:09,280
Speaker 1: boy had been telling people. The boy said, it was

994
00:58:09,320 --> 00:58:12,040
Speaker 1: hard going back into your class, and I remember crying

995
00:58:12,080 --> 00:58:15,440
Speaker 1: and feeling like shit. I remember even feeling bad inside,

996
00:58:15,520 --> 00:58:18,200
Speaker 1: like I had done something wrong. I started to think

997
00:58:18,240 --> 00:58:20,400
Speaker 1: it was all a dream because that's the only way

998
00:58:20,400 --> 00:58:23,080
Speaker 1: I could deal with it by myself. The boy said

999
00:58:23,080 --> 00:58:25,320
Speaker 1: he was bullied and teased at school, lost a lot

1000
00:58:25,360 --> 00:58:28,480
Speaker 1: of friends, and even contemplated suicide because of what Parker

1001
00:58:28,520 --> 00:58:31,040
Speaker 1: did to him. I blame you for a lot of

1002
00:58:31,040 --> 00:58:34,440
Speaker 1: my sad feelings, for my anger. I think you're sack.

1003
00:58:34,480 --> 00:58:38,840
Speaker 1: A second boy said Parker stole his childhood from him.

1004
00:58:39,480 --> 00:58:41,680
Speaker 1: He said he loved being on Parker's farm, working with

1005
00:58:41,720 --> 00:58:45,160
Speaker 1: animals and taking part in fun activities. Every time he

1006
00:58:45,240 --> 00:58:47,240
Speaker 1: went there he was worried about what Parker would do

1007
00:58:47,320 --> 00:58:51,080
Speaker 1: to him. He said often there were several boys there,

1008
00:58:51,120 --> 00:58:52,760
Speaker 1: but the abuse would only happen when I was there

1009
00:58:52,800 --> 00:58:55,320
Speaker 1: by myself. I would go home with a feeling of

1010
00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:58,400
Speaker 1: disgust and feeling dirty. I'd spent a lot of time

1011
00:58:58,440 --> 00:59:00,880
Speaker 1: in the shower, but even then I wouldn't feel clean.

1012
00:59:01,920 --> 00:59:04,600
Speaker 1: Jamie stole my childhood from me. I hate him for

1013
00:59:04,640 --> 00:59:07,480
Speaker 1: what he's done, and I will never forgive him. Jamie

1014
00:59:07,480 --> 00:59:10,280
Speaker 1: had power and control over me, but no one will

1015
00:59:10,320 --> 00:59:13,880
Speaker 1: ever be able to treat me like that again. One

1016
00:59:13,920 --> 00:59:16,120
Speaker 1: boy's mother told the court she had known Parker since

1017
00:59:16,160 --> 00:59:19,040
Speaker 1: he was nineteen years old and trusted him so much

1018
00:59:19,160 --> 00:59:22,320
Speaker 1: she sent her son to his farm every school holidays.

1019
00:59:22,560 --> 00:59:25,520
Speaker 1: She said, my boy loved going to Jamie's, but after

1020
00:59:25,560 --> 00:59:27,480
Speaker 1: one holiday, he didn't want to go back, and he

1021
00:59:27,480 --> 00:59:31,240
Speaker 1: wouldn't tell me why. She said she almost died inside

1022
00:59:31,360 --> 00:59:33,360
Speaker 1: when she found out what Parker had done to her son.

1023
00:59:34,680 --> 00:59:36,680
Speaker 1: I want you to feel the pain that these boys

1024
00:59:36,760 --> 00:59:38,680
Speaker 1: and all the rest of us are feeling, she said.

1025
00:59:40,040 --> 00:59:42,240
Speaker 1: Another mum told the court that she had to try

1026
00:59:42,280 --> 00:59:45,000
Speaker 1: really hard not to let the thoughts of this monster

1027
00:59:45,600 --> 00:59:48,720
Speaker 1: entering her head every day. She said her children could

1028
00:59:48,760 --> 00:59:51,120
Speaker 1: no longer be at school because they can't cope with

1029
00:59:51,120 --> 00:59:54,840
Speaker 1: the sadness. They're teased and bullied at college because they've

1030
00:59:54,840 --> 00:59:57,960
Speaker 1: had the misfortune of knowing you. She said, They've been

1031
00:59:58,000 --> 01:00:04,200
Speaker 1: punished just for knowing you. Isn't that just sick? Justice

1032
01:00:04,240 --> 01:00:06,880
Speaker 1: Heath also heard from the crown. In defense before handing

1033
01:00:06,920 --> 01:00:11,080
Speaker 1: down Parker's sentence, Prosecutor Michael Smith submitted the sex offender

1034
01:00:11,120 --> 01:00:14,320
Speaker 1: should be given a sentence of preventive detention because of

1035
01:00:14,360 --> 01:00:17,600
Speaker 1: the risk he posed to the community. He said his

1036
01:00:17,720 --> 01:00:21,680
Speaker 1: offending is in many respects without comparison in New Zealand's history.

1037
01:00:22,360 --> 01:00:26,200
Speaker 1: It is without comparison and defies summary. Only when the

1038
01:00:26,200 --> 01:00:28,880
Speaker 1: boys spoke out, when they stepped forward, would he finally

1039
01:00:28,920 --> 01:00:31,760
Speaker 1: accept and admit what he's done. It was their bravery,

1040
01:00:32,000 --> 01:00:34,760
Speaker 1: and their bravery alone that has brought a stop to

1041
01:00:34,840 --> 01:00:39,720
Speaker 1: this person's behavior. Smith finished his submissions saying the damage

1042
01:00:39,720 --> 01:00:43,760
Speaker 1: done to Parker's young victims was incalculable. The sentence won't

1043
01:00:43,920 --> 01:00:48,280
Speaker 1: fix the harm, he said. Defense lawyer Alex Buttonhannah said

1044
01:00:48,280 --> 01:00:51,160
Speaker 1: the victim impact statements had had a profound effect on Parker.

1045
01:00:51,720 --> 01:00:54,520
Speaker 1: He said his client had been and remained grief stricken

1046
01:00:54,520 --> 01:00:57,720
Speaker 1: at the harm had caused. He explains that Parker was

1047
01:00:57,880 --> 01:01:00,520
Speaker 1: very distressed by his attraction to a certain age group,

1048
01:01:00,800 --> 01:01:03,720
Speaker 1: and he was motivated and committed to getting help. Wit

1049
01:01:03,800 --> 01:01:06,000
Speaker 1: and Hannah told the court that in two thousand and nine,

1050
01:01:06,040 --> 01:01:09,520
Speaker 1: when Parker was first investigated by police and alarm bells rang,

1051
01:01:09,960 --> 01:01:12,160
Speaker 1: he didn't confess his crimes because he felt he had

1052
01:01:12,160 --> 01:01:15,280
Speaker 1: reached a point where he couldn't stop himself. He said,

1053
01:01:15,840 --> 01:01:18,920
Speaker 1: it tells us that the man has a sexual deviancy problem,

1054
01:01:19,080 --> 01:01:20,840
Speaker 1: and part of the tragedy is that there was not

1055
01:01:21,040 --> 01:01:24,520
Speaker 1: someone whom he could turn to for help. But Justice

1056
01:01:24,600 --> 01:01:28,680
Speaker 1: Heath disagreed. He said, it doesn't tell me that. It

1057
01:01:28,720 --> 01:01:30,840
Speaker 1: tells me that he was aware of his problem but

1058
01:01:31,000 --> 01:01:33,800
Speaker 1: was prepared to continue to do it, rather than to

1059
01:01:33,880 --> 01:01:36,720
Speaker 1: admit to the police and admit that he needed help.

1060
01:01:37,560 --> 01:01:40,520
Speaker 1: Given that, Justice Heath was not satisfied a finite sentence

1061
01:01:40,560 --> 01:01:44,840
Speaker 1: would adequately protect society from Parker. He said, I believe

1062
01:01:44,880 --> 01:01:47,800
Speaker 1: there is information that indicates a tendency for you to

1063
01:01:47,840 --> 01:01:51,920
Speaker 1: commit similar offenses in the future. Past behavior is the

1064
01:01:51,920 --> 01:01:56,280
Speaker 1: best predicator of future behavior. Justice Heath said Parker could

1065
01:01:56,280 --> 01:01:59,160
Speaker 1: have stopped the abuse when first spoken to police in

1066
01:01:59,160 --> 01:02:02,720
Speaker 1: the nineties, he said he did have a choice, and

1067
01:02:02,760 --> 01:02:05,880
Speaker 1: he made the decision to continue to offend, and the

1068
01:02:05,960 --> 01:02:10,120
Speaker 1: offending escalated. Look at the people who might have been spared.

1069
01:02:11,040 --> 01:02:13,920
Speaker 1: He then turned to formal sentencing of James Robertson Parker.

1070
01:02:14,560 --> 01:02:17,680
Speaker 1: This is actual audio from the courtroom on the day.

1071
01:02:18,080 --> 01:02:24,000
Speaker 4: James Robertson Parker. You appear for sentence today, having pleaded

1072
01:02:24,040 --> 01:02:30,360
Speaker 4: guilty to seventy four charges involving unlawful sexual connection and

1073
01:02:30,520 --> 01:02:38,320
Speaker 4: indecencies committed against young boys. The offending includes twenty five

1074
01:02:38,560 --> 01:02:43,120
Speaker 4: charges of indecent acts with boys under the age of

1075
01:02:43,200 --> 01:02:48,480
Speaker 4: twelve years, thirty five of indecent acts on boys aged

1076
01:02:48,520 --> 01:02:53,560
Speaker 4: between twelve and sixteen years, four of sexual connection with

1077
01:02:53,640 --> 01:02:57,840
Speaker 4: a child under the age of twelve years, five of

1078
01:02:57,960 --> 01:03:01,800
Speaker 4: sexual connection with a young person aged between twelve and

1079
01:03:01,960 --> 01:03:07,840
Speaker 4: sixteen years, and five of sexual violation. What is clear

1080
01:03:08,440 --> 01:03:12,680
Speaker 4: is that you have harmed the small community that you

1081
01:03:12,800 --> 01:03:20,480
Speaker 4: were supposed to serve to an unimaginable degree. I begin

1082
01:03:20,640 --> 01:03:24,600
Speaker 4: by acknowledging the presence here today of many of the

1083
01:03:24,720 --> 01:03:30,240
Speaker 4: victims of your offending and family members. I acknowledge, in

1084
01:03:30,320 --> 01:03:33,600
Speaker 4: particular the courage of those who have stood today in

1085
01:03:33,720 --> 01:03:38,600
Speaker 4: court and read their victim impact statements with great dignity.

1086
01:03:39,400 --> 01:03:41,880
Speaker 4: I had hoped that the way in which the statements

1087
01:03:41,920 --> 01:03:46,240
Speaker 4: were read by victims and family members today would give

1088
01:03:46,280 --> 01:03:49,520
Speaker 4: you a greater insight into the harmful effects of your

1089
01:03:49,600 --> 01:03:53,400
Speaker 4: conduct than you seem to show when you were first

1090
01:03:53,520 --> 01:04:00,560
Speaker 4: confronted about the activities. You may or may not have

1091
01:04:00,720 --> 01:04:05,000
Speaker 4: got that greater insight. However, I could not help to

1092
01:04:05,080 --> 01:04:08,360
Speaker 4: notice that when you were listening to the statements, you

1093
01:04:08,480 --> 01:04:11,960
Speaker 4: did not even have the courtesy to look the victims

1094
01:04:12,200 --> 01:04:17,920
Speaker 4: in the eye. You simply sat there, holding your head

1095
01:04:18,200 --> 01:04:23,760
Speaker 4: in your hands and not looking towards them. Mister Parker,

1096
01:04:23,920 --> 01:04:27,800
Speaker 4: on each of these seventy four chargers, you are sentenced

1097
01:04:27,840 --> 01:04:32,000
Speaker 4: to preventive detention with a minimum term of imprisonment of

1098
01:04:32,120 --> 01:04:37,520
Speaker 4: seven years. The sentences will run concurrently. I recommend that

1099
01:04:37,640 --> 01:04:41,200
Speaker 4: you be given such treatment as is prescribed to you

1100
01:04:41,880 --> 01:04:45,920
Speaker 4: to assist in your rehabilitation as soon as possible. I

1101
01:04:46,000 --> 01:04:47,720
Speaker 4: can do no more than that.

1102
01:04:48,360 --> 01:04:52,840
Speaker 1: Standout Parker did not speak at a sentencing, but when

1103
01:04:52,840 --> 01:04:54,920
Speaker 1: he admitted the first bundle of charges, he read a

1104
01:04:54,920 --> 01:04:58,160
Speaker 1: statement in court claiming his thoughts were with the fifteen

1105
01:04:58,240 --> 01:05:03,439
Speaker 1: young victims said words cannot express the total shame, guilt, regret,

1106
01:05:03,520 --> 01:05:05,800
Speaker 1: and sorrow that consumes me day and night because of

1107
01:05:05,800 --> 01:05:08,560
Speaker 1: the things I've done. Believe it or not, these crimes

1108
01:05:08,600 --> 01:05:12,160
Speaker 1: were committed against people I care very much about. I

1109
01:05:12,200 --> 01:05:14,800
Speaker 1: wish I could fix the damage I have caused. My

1110
01:05:14,880 --> 01:05:17,600
Speaker 1: crimes have also had an awful and drastic consequence for

1111
01:05:17,680 --> 01:05:21,640
Speaker 1: my school community, students, staff, parents, board of trustees, and principle.

1112
01:05:22,200 --> 01:05:25,280
Speaker 1: You are all indirectly victims of what I have done.

1113
01:05:25,360 --> 01:05:28,080
Speaker 1: As a teacher and deputy principle, I held a position

1114
01:05:28,160 --> 01:05:31,760
Speaker 1: of great trust. My actions betrayed that trust. I have

1115
01:05:31,840 --> 01:05:35,120
Speaker 1: let you all down, causing huge amounts of unnecessary stress.

1116
01:05:35,640 --> 01:05:38,760
Speaker 1: I'm truly sorry. Those of you who know me well

1117
01:05:38,800 --> 01:05:40,600
Speaker 1: will know that I am not the monster that many

1118
01:05:40,640 --> 01:05:44,080
Speaker 1: will betray me to be. I am, however, the unwilling

1119
01:05:44,120 --> 01:05:48,960
Speaker 1: host of the most terrible disorder. After a sentencing came

1120
01:05:49,000 --> 01:05:51,280
Speaker 1: the result of the investigation into the abuse by the

1121
01:05:51,320 --> 01:05:54,880
Speaker 1: New Zealand Teacher's Disciplinary Tribunal. It had looked into what

1122
01:05:55,080 --> 01:05:57,160
Speaker 1: had and had not been done over the years that

1123
01:05:57,240 --> 01:06:01,040
Speaker 1: could have stopped Parker's offending. The principle at his school

1124
01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:03,280
Speaker 1: was censured by the Tribunal for not setting up a

1125
01:06:03,280 --> 01:06:06,840
Speaker 1: process to monishor Parker after police warned him the teacher

1126
01:06:06,880 --> 01:06:10,320
Speaker 1: was inappropriately having young pupils to stay overnight at his house.

1127
01:06:11,120 --> 01:06:14,120
Speaker 1: The principal had actually been sacked a year earlier after

1128
01:06:14,160 --> 01:06:16,800
Speaker 1: it was determined he didn't take appropriate action when the

1129
01:06:16,840 --> 01:06:43,880
Speaker 1: concerns were first raised about Parker. The sentence of preventive

1130
01:06:43,920 --> 01:06:46,800
Speaker 1: detention with a minimum non parole period of seven years

1131
01:06:47,120 --> 01:06:49,520
Speaker 1: did not mean that Parker would be released in seven years.

1132
01:06:50,000 --> 01:06:51,680
Speaker 1: It meant he would have to stay behind bars for

1133
01:06:51,720 --> 01:06:54,000
Speaker 1: the rest of his life unless the Parole bull was

1134
01:06:54,040 --> 01:06:56,440
Speaker 1: satisfied it would be safe to release him. He had

1135
01:06:56,440 --> 01:06:58,840
Speaker 1: to serve seven years in jail before he was eligible

1136
01:06:58,880 --> 01:07:02,360
Speaker 1: for parole. When that time came, the board refused to

1137
01:07:02,400 --> 01:07:05,240
Speaker 1: release him. He saw the board again in August twenty

1138
01:07:05,280 --> 01:07:08,240
Speaker 1: twenty three. Again he was deemed too much of a

1139
01:07:08,320 --> 01:07:11,640
Speaker 1: risk to return to community. The board heard Parker was

1140
01:07:11,640 --> 01:07:14,480
Speaker 1: in a sex offenders unit at Rolliston Prison near Christchurch.

1141
01:07:14,920 --> 01:07:17,880
Speaker 1: He attended weekly group meetings with other sex offenders and

1142
01:07:17,920 --> 01:07:22,080
Speaker 1: participated in other programs centered around rehabilitation. He worked as

1143
01:07:22,080 --> 01:07:24,760
Speaker 1: a cleaner in the prison's administration building and was said

1144
01:07:24,760 --> 01:07:27,080
Speaker 1: to have a positive work ethic. He had had two

1145
01:07:27,080 --> 01:07:30,160
Speaker 1: guarded releases, meaning he had supervised trips away from the

1146
01:07:30,160 --> 01:07:34,120
Speaker 1: prison into the community. The prison psychologist said Parker was

1147
01:07:34,160 --> 01:07:37,360
Speaker 1: an average risk of sexually reoffending, although at the high

1148
01:07:37,480 --> 01:07:40,720
Speaker 1: end of this risk range. They said he continued to

1149
01:07:40,760 --> 01:07:44,560
Speaker 1: maintain treatment gains and demonstrated positive behavior change around a

1150
01:07:44,640 --> 01:07:48,880
Speaker 1: number of dynamic risk factors. Board acknowledged Parker had completed

1151
01:07:48,880 --> 01:07:52,120
Speaker 1: the rehab phase of his sentence. However, had not developed

1152
01:07:52,160 --> 01:07:55,040
Speaker 1: a release proposal, which outlines where an offender will live

1153
01:07:55,080 --> 01:07:57,760
Speaker 1: and work outside prison and how they planned to reintegrate

1154
01:07:57,840 --> 01:08:01,000
Speaker 1: and stay out of trouble, so Parker couldn't be released

1155
01:08:01,000 --> 01:08:03,880
Speaker 1: on parole. The board said it was necessary for Parker

1156
01:08:03,920 --> 01:08:07,840
Speaker 1: to complete a significant period of consolidation and testing through

1157
01:08:07,840 --> 01:08:12,000
Speaker 1: a range of reintegration activities. Parker's most recent parole hearing

1158
01:08:12,080 --> 01:08:15,120
Speaker 1: was on Friday, September twenty this year twenty twenty four.

1159
01:08:15,560 --> 01:08:17,840
Speaker 1: I was granted permission by the Parole Board to attend

1160
01:08:17,920 --> 01:08:21,400
Speaker 1: the hearing. Any journalist can apply to attend a parole hearing,

1161
01:08:21,479 --> 01:08:23,920
Speaker 1: and the chair makes a decision after considering a number

1162
01:08:23,960 --> 01:08:26,960
Speaker 1: of factors, including whether their presence will impact the running

1163
01:08:27,040 --> 01:08:29,439
Speaker 1: or the purpose of the hearing in Parker's case, the

1164
01:08:29,439 --> 01:08:32,000
Speaker 1: board allowed me to attend and take notes. I wasn't

1165
01:08:32,000 --> 01:08:35,040
Speaker 1: permitted to record sound or take photos or video. Since

1166
01:08:35,080 --> 01:08:37,439
Speaker 1: I last saw Parker in the Fargarday District Court, his

1167
01:08:37,479 --> 01:08:40,920
Speaker 1: appearance hasn't changed much. He's still tall and lean and

1168
01:08:40,960 --> 01:08:43,800
Speaker 1: looks far younger than his actual age. At the start

1169
01:08:43,800 --> 01:08:46,320
Speaker 1: of the hearing, Parker said that he was nervous while

1170
01:08:46,360 --> 01:08:49,160
Speaker 1: speaking with the media present, but he promised to be

1171
01:08:49,160 --> 01:08:51,640
Speaker 1: open and honest to ensure the board panel had all

1172
01:08:51,680 --> 01:08:55,599
Speaker 1: the information they needed to properly consider his release. Panel

1173
01:08:55,640 --> 01:08:59,519
Speaker 1: convener Christopher King asked Parker to explain how the offending began.

1174
01:09:00,320 --> 01:09:03,000
Speaker 1: The inmate said it all started when he was a child.

1175
01:09:03,720 --> 01:09:06,160
Speaker 1: He was raised in a Christian household and his father

1176
01:09:06,280 --> 01:09:10,040
Speaker 1: had strong religious beliefs. He said, things happen in your

1177
01:09:10,080 --> 01:09:12,559
Speaker 1: life that are out of your control. I've always known

1178
01:09:12,600 --> 01:09:15,200
Speaker 1: I've been attracted to the same sex. However, back in

1179
01:09:15,240 --> 01:09:18,519
Speaker 1: those years that was an okay within our church or family,

1180
01:09:18,720 --> 01:09:21,960
Speaker 1: it wasn't okay. So I learned to hate that part

1181
01:09:21,960 --> 01:09:26,439
Speaker 1: of myself and actually hate myself. I wished I could change.

1182
01:09:26,920 --> 01:09:30,439
Speaker 1: I developed core beliefs about being unworthy, not good enough,

1183
01:09:30,720 --> 01:09:36,040
Speaker 1: a mistake. Parker said he felt confused. He said, I

1184
01:09:36,080 --> 01:09:38,920
Speaker 1: never felt like I fit in. I felt excluded. I

1185
01:09:39,000 --> 01:09:41,400
Speaker 1: used to try to seek approval from everyone else. I

1186
01:09:41,479 --> 01:09:43,800
Speaker 1: used to try to be mister nice guy all the time.

1187
01:09:44,400 --> 01:09:47,400
Speaker 1: Parker learned early on that he connected well with children

1188
01:09:47,800 --> 01:09:50,400
Speaker 1: and felt that sense of love and belonging that he

1189
01:09:50,439 --> 01:09:54,840
Speaker 1: had always been searching for. He explained, although it was fake,

1190
01:09:55,320 --> 01:09:59,200
Speaker 1: all distorted thinking, that's where I felt comfortable. The affection

1191
01:09:59,280 --> 01:10:03,599
Speaker 1: they showed to me, I turned into something sexual. Parker

1192
01:10:03,640 --> 01:10:06,400
Speaker 1: admitted that his first offending was in his teens against

1193
01:10:06,439 --> 01:10:09,560
Speaker 1: a younger youth. My life was a high risk situation,

1194
01:10:09,800 --> 01:10:13,479
Speaker 1: he said. I kept defending for years. That's all I

1195
01:10:13,520 --> 01:10:17,320
Speaker 1: thought about. Parker said he didn't become a teacher specifically

1196
01:10:17,439 --> 01:10:20,519
Speaker 1: to get access to young boys. He told the board,

1197
01:10:21,439 --> 01:10:24,160
Speaker 1: I've thought about that a lot during my treatment. Did

1198
01:10:24,200 --> 01:10:26,720
Speaker 1: I become a teacher to become closer to children in

1199
01:10:26,840 --> 01:10:30,439
Speaker 1: order to offend? I loved teaching, and I loved being

1200
01:10:30,479 --> 01:10:33,160
Speaker 1: around children and doing my best for them. It was

1201
01:10:33,200 --> 01:10:36,639
Speaker 1: an innocent choice to become a teacher, But then that

1202
01:10:36,680 --> 01:10:39,559
Speaker 1: created an opportunity for me, and I preyed upon vulnerable

1203
01:10:39,680 --> 01:10:44,880
Speaker 1: children the most vulnerable. Parker acknowledged being warned over the

1204
01:10:44,960 --> 01:10:47,519
Speaker 1: years by the principles at the schools where he taught

1205
01:10:47,680 --> 01:10:50,920
Speaker 1: and members of the community about his behavior with the children.

1206
01:10:51,520 --> 01:10:56,280
Speaker 1: He responded with, in his words, absolute denial. He told

1207
01:10:56,320 --> 01:10:58,880
Speaker 1: the board, my life was a lie and it was

1208
01:10:58,920 --> 01:11:02,960
Speaker 1: extremely stressful, not only my offending but also my sexuality.

1209
01:11:03,720 --> 01:11:06,680
Speaker 1: I burned the candle at both ends, trying to please everybody,

1210
01:11:07,320 --> 01:11:09,120
Speaker 1: trying to make up for the bad I was doing.

1211
01:11:09,760 --> 01:11:13,479
Speaker 1: I compartmentalized it. I refuse to think about it because

1212
01:11:13,479 --> 01:11:16,000
Speaker 1: if I didn't, I could look for justifications for what

1213
01:11:16,040 --> 01:11:18,920
Speaker 1: I was doing. The reason I was able to offend

1214
01:11:18,960 --> 01:11:21,800
Speaker 1: against so many boys was that I convinced myself that

1215
01:11:21,880 --> 01:11:26,160
Speaker 1: I wasn't hurting them. They kept coming back, They kept

1216
01:11:26,160 --> 01:11:29,120
Speaker 1: coming back for years, and I couldn't see any difference.

1217
01:11:30,120 --> 01:11:32,919
Speaker 1: I chose not to listen to those people. But treatment

1218
01:11:32,960 --> 01:11:36,360
Speaker 1: has taught me. It's changed my life. It showed me

1219
01:11:36,400 --> 01:11:38,599
Speaker 1: how I came to be how I was, and taught

1220
01:11:38,600 --> 01:11:41,920
Speaker 1: me to be how I am now. It has changed

1221
01:11:41,920 --> 01:11:44,160
Speaker 1: how I see the world and how I see myself,

1222
01:11:44,760 --> 01:11:46,679
Speaker 1: and how I see the things that I have done

1223
01:11:46,960 --> 01:11:50,640
Speaker 1: and the people that I hurt. Parker became emotional when

1224
01:11:50,680 --> 01:11:53,240
Speaker 1: he explained to the board that he genuinely loved his

1225
01:11:53,320 --> 01:11:57,679
Speaker 1: community and still does. He said, but I've hurt them

1226
01:11:57,760 --> 01:12:01,040
Speaker 1: so much. I just broke their t and it's very

1227
01:12:01,040 --> 01:12:03,479
Speaker 1: hard to live with that. I can't make this right.

1228
01:12:03,880 --> 01:12:07,080
Speaker 1: But I've given this treatment everything I've got. I've done

1229
01:12:07,120 --> 01:12:10,920
Speaker 1: everything I can. King asked Parker about his empathy for

1230
01:12:10,960 --> 01:12:14,880
Speaker 1: the young victims and their families. It's awful to think about,

1231
01:12:15,040 --> 01:12:18,960
Speaker 1: Parker said, I took away their childhoods. I took away

1232
01:12:19,040 --> 01:12:23,559
Speaker 1: those first experiences they should have had. I'm mortified every

1233
01:12:23,640 --> 01:12:26,439
Speaker 1: day I wake up and the world comes crashing back down.

1234
01:12:26,720 --> 01:12:29,200
Speaker 1: When I wake up and I remember what I've done.

1235
01:12:29,280 --> 01:12:32,640
Speaker 1: My life was a high risk situation. My life was

1236
01:12:32,640 --> 01:12:36,519
Speaker 1: a lie. Parker also spoke about the impact as offending

1237
01:12:36,600 --> 01:12:40,600
Speaker 1: had on the wider community, particularly Pamaputia's school pupils he

1238
01:12:40,640 --> 01:12:44,519
Speaker 1: had not offended against. There was so much publicity. They

1239
01:12:44,520 --> 01:12:47,960
Speaker 1: couldn't even go to school. People were all looking. It

1240
01:12:48,080 --> 01:12:51,519
Speaker 1: must have been absolute hell for them. It's absolutely awful

1241
01:12:51,600 --> 01:12:54,519
Speaker 1: to think about. Parker then spoke to the board about

1242
01:12:54,520 --> 01:12:58,680
Speaker 1: his future plans. He said, I'm absolutely committed to not

1243
01:12:58,800 --> 01:13:01,479
Speaker 1: hurting people I've heard a lot of men say that

1244
01:13:01,479 --> 01:13:04,680
Speaker 1: they're not going to offend again. I'm not fixed. I'm

1245
01:13:04,720 --> 01:13:07,200
Speaker 1: not fixed, but I know now that I can manage.

1246
01:13:08,080 --> 01:13:11,160
Speaker 1: I know the warning signs, I know my high risk situations.

1247
01:13:11,600 --> 01:13:16,080
Speaker 1: I'm absolutely determined. I'm anxious about going into the community.

1248
01:13:16,600 --> 01:13:19,920
Speaker 1: That's due to my high profile. I'll be a dedicated

1249
01:13:19,960 --> 01:13:23,599
Speaker 1: worker if anyone takes me on. I realize my life

1250
01:13:23,680 --> 01:13:26,160
Speaker 1: is going to be totally different from how it was before.

1251
01:13:26,880 --> 01:13:29,000
Speaker 1: But I do want to be a contributing member of

1252
01:13:29,000 --> 01:13:31,760
Speaker 1: the community, to have a job and work and do

1253
01:13:31,840 --> 01:13:35,520
Speaker 1: the things I love within the boundaries of my new life.

1254
01:13:35,640 --> 01:13:38,440
Speaker 1: I know it's going to be very different, but I'm confident.

1255
01:13:39,479 --> 01:13:41,720
Speaker 1: Parker then explained to the board that his family had

1256
01:13:41,760 --> 01:13:45,799
Speaker 1: been wonderful and he had their full support. He revealed,

1257
01:13:46,800 --> 01:13:49,439
Speaker 1: I came out to them during my treatment program. I

1258
01:13:49,479 --> 01:13:52,719
Speaker 1: came out to everybody. I don't feel lonely anymore because

1259
01:13:52,720 --> 01:13:55,320
Speaker 1: I'm actually being who I'm supposed to be, and that's

1260
01:13:55,520 --> 01:13:59,320
Speaker 1: really special. I should have told them years ago. Things

1261
01:13:59,320 --> 01:14:02,800
Speaker 1: would have been so oh different. After the board took

1262
01:14:02,840 --> 01:14:06,519
Speaker 1: a brief adjournment to consider parole, King delivered the decision

1263
01:14:06,520 --> 01:14:10,000
Speaker 1: to Parker. He said, parole was declined, but the board

1264
01:14:10,000 --> 01:14:13,720
Speaker 1: would see him again in March twenty twenty five. He

1265
01:14:13,760 --> 01:14:16,320
Speaker 1: hoped that during that time Parker could participate in the

1266
01:14:16,360 --> 01:14:19,760
Speaker 1: Release to Work program and get more experience in the community.

1267
01:14:20,360 --> 01:14:23,680
Speaker 1: King said, it is also a period of testing in

1268
01:14:23,680 --> 01:14:26,719
Speaker 1: a new context for some of these very important lessons

1269
01:14:26,760 --> 01:14:31,080
Speaker 1: that you've learned. James Parker will eventually be released from prison.

1270
01:14:31,280 --> 01:14:33,880
Speaker 1: He will be in the community. He will undoubtedly come

1271
01:14:33,880 --> 01:14:36,559
Speaker 1: into contact with young people, but he will be living

1272
01:14:36,640 --> 01:14:39,040
Speaker 1: under a series of strict conditions for the rest of

1273
01:14:39,040 --> 01:14:42,479
Speaker 1: his life and monitored by the Department of Corrections. He

1274
01:14:42,479 --> 01:14:44,959
Speaker 1: will never be allowed to teach again, and I imagine

1275
01:14:44,960 --> 01:14:47,559
Speaker 1: and hope his access to young boys will be watched

1276
01:14:47,840 --> 01:14:52,040
Speaker 1: very closely. Any new offending or inappropriate behavior could see

1277
01:14:52,080 --> 01:14:56,200
Speaker 1: him return to prison to continue serving his time. Sadly,

1278
01:14:56,360 --> 01:14:58,840
Speaker 1: James Parker will not be the last teacher to abuse

1279
01:14:58,840 --> 01:15:01,680
Speaker 1: their position to hurt chill. I have no doubt I

1280
01:15:01,720 --> 01:15:04,719
Speaker 1: will report on many more vile offenders like him before

1281
01:15:04,720 --> 01:15:07,680
Speaker 1: my career is over, and I have no doubt there

1282
01:15:07,680 --> 01:15:10,400
Speaker 1: will be more cases where offending could have been stopped

1283
01:15:10,520 --> 01:15:14,080
Speaker 1: much earlier. In the month I was preparing this episode

1284
01:15:14,080 --> 01:15:16,519
Speaker 1: of a moment in crime. There were a handful of

1285
01:15:16,520 --> 01:15:21,320
Speaker 1: examples of sex offending and badly behaved educators. It's appalling,

1286
01:15:21,439 --> 01:15:23,880
Speaker 1: but I've heartened their actions of being reported on or

1287
01:15:23,880 --> 01:15:26,439
Speaker 1: their victims are finding the strength to disclose what's been

1288
01:15:26,479 --> 01:15:29,639
Speaker 1: done to them. In July twenty twenty four, my colleague

1289
01:15:29,680 --> 01:15:33,559
Speaker 1: Jeremy Wilkinson reported on an early childhood teacher who allegedly

1290
01:15:33,640 --> 01:15:36,519
Speaker 1: kissed a three year old boy on the lips multiple times,

1291
01:15:36,680 --> 01:15:40,439
Speaker 1: sparking serious concerns from his colleagues and parents. The man's

1292
01:15:40,439 --> 01:15:43,840
Speaker 1: alleged conduct towards four other children under five was also

1293
01:15:43,960 --> 01:15:47,439
Speaker 1: under the microscope, including nuzzling his face into the chest

1294
01:15:47,479 --> 01:15:49,920
Speaker 1: of a three year old girl, kissing another girl's hand,

1295
01:15:50,120 --> 01:15:53,479
Speaker 1: and rubbing the leg of a young boy. The reliever

1296
01:15:53,600 --> 01:15:57,600
Speaker 1: teacher appeared before the Disciplinary Tribunal in Auckland, charged with

1297
01:15:57,680 --> 01:16:01,040
Speaker 1: serious misconduct for the incidents that alleged occurred at two

1298
01:16:01,120 --> 01:16:04,360
Speaker 1: different centers in twenty twenty one. He was granted interim

1299
01:16:04,439 --> 01:16:07,479
Speaker 1: name suppression and a ruling on his charges as yet

1300
01:16:07,479 --> 01:16:10,719
Speaker 1: to be released. A month later, my colleague Hannah Butler

1301
01:16:10,880 --> 01:16:14,280
Speaker 1: reported on primary school teacher Aaron Jarmi, who was sentenced

1302
01:16:14,280 --> 01:16:17,680
Speaker 1: to eleven months homes attention after she admitted an inappropriate

1303
01:16:17,720 --> 01:16:22,000
Speaker 1: relationship with a preteen girl over an estimated nine month period.

1304
01:16:22,640 --> 01:16:25,040
Speaker 1: The thirty nine year old pleaded guilty in the Rotorua

1305
01:16:25,080 --> 01:16:28,240
Speaker 1: District Court to a representative charge of an indecent act

1306
01:16:28,240 --> 01:16:31,759
Speaker 1: with a child. As I explained before, a representative charge

1307
01:16:31,800 --> 01:16:35,080
Speaker 1: means police believer a person has committed multiple offenses of

1308
01:16:35,120 --> 01:16:39,200
Speaker 1: the same type in similar circumstances. The indecent acts covered

1309
01:16:39,200 --> 01:16:41,960
Speaker 1: by the charge related to hugging and kissing, described by

1310
01:16:41,960 --> 01:16:45,200
Speaker 1: witnesses as the pair touching and caressing each other's bodies

1311
01:16:45,240 --> 01:16:48,799
Speaker 1: and a lover's cuddle. According to the summary of facts,

1312
01:16:48,840 --> 01:16:52,840
Speaker 1: one of the kissing episodes lasted for several minutes. Most

1313
01:16:52,880 --> 01:16:55,519
Speaker 1: of the kissing happened when Jami picked up or dropped

1314
01:16:55,520 --> 01:16:58,719
Speaker 1: the girl off. The neighbors who saw it initially didn't

1315
01:16:58,760 --> 01:17:01,559
Speaker 1: realize it was the pre teen girl, mistaking her for

1316
01:17:01,600 --> 01:17:04,160
Speaker 1: an older girl. Jamie was a senior teacher at a

1317
01:17:04,200 --> 01:17:06,840
Speaker 1: primary school and first met the victim through her role there,

1318
01:17:07,360 --> 01:17:09,599
Speaker 1: but she was never the child teacher and the offending

1319
01:17:09,640 --> 01:17:11,839
Speaker 1: didn't happen when the girl was a student at the school.

1320
01:17:12,280 --> 01:17:15,400
Speaker 1: Outside school, she befriended the young girl's family and offered

1321
01:17:15,400 --> 01:17:18,160
Speaker 1: to pack her up and take her to extra curricular activities.

1322
01:17:18,800 --> 01:17:22,040
Speaker 1: The pier sent and estimated nearly six thousand messages over

1323
01:17:22,080 --> 01:17:24,679
Speaker 1: a messaging app for kids, and also emailed each other.

1324
01:17:25,320 --> 01:17:27,240
Speaker 1: Jamie would often go for a walk in the evening

1325
01:17:27,320 --> 01:17:30,120
Speaker 1: and call the girl, having conversations that would last for

1326
01:17:30,160 --> 01:17:33,600
Speaker 1: an hour or more. While Jamie was under investigation, she

1327
01:17:33,680 --> 01:17:37,000
Speaker 1: continued to contact the child, chatting to her via another

1328
01:17:37,080 --> 01:17:40,559
Speaker 1: online platform for kids. After the woman was charged, she

1329
01:17:40,680 --> 01:17:43,599
Speaker 1: was told by police to stop communicating with the victim,

1330
01:17:44,160 --> 01:17:47,519
Speaker 1: but she didn't. She deliberately attended an activity outside of

1331
01:17:47,520 --> 01:17:50,320
Speaker 1: school that the girl was involved in and was observed

1332
01:17:50,439 --> 01:17:53,560
Speaker 1: taking photos of her. When Jamie was charged, she was

1333
01:17:53,600 --> 01:17:57,000
Speaker 1: stood down from a teaching job. At sentencing, her lawyer

1334
01:17:57,000 --> 01:18:00,840
Speaker 1: told the court she'd made a horrific mistake. Situation was

1335
01:18:01,200 --> 01:18:05,320
Speaker 1: a tragedy of Shakespearean proportions. He claimed his client was

1336
01:18:05,320 --> 01:18:07,160
Speaker 1: struggling to come to grips with how it all came

1337
01:18:07,200 --> 01:18:11,439
Speaker 1: about and was undertaking counseling. Jarmy provided a letter of

1338
01:18:11,479 --> 01:18:13,960
Speaker 1: remorse to the court, and the judge said it showed

1339
01:18:14,000 --> 01:18:17,360
Speaker 1: she accepted she crossed a line and developed an inappropriate

1340
01:18:17,400 --> 01:18:21,280
Speaker 1: relationship with the girl. In the letter quoted by the judge,

1341
01:18:21,320 --> 01:18:24,920
Speaker 1: she expressed her heartfelt apologies and said she was deeply

1342
01:18:24,960 --> 01:18:28,639
Speaker 1: remorseful and ashamed by the effects that has caused everyone involved.

1343
01:18:29,240 --> 01:18:32,920
Speaker 1: She wrote, reflecting on the situation, I recognized that the

1344
01:18:33,000 --> 01:18:36,200
Speaker 1: mentorship friendship was blurred, became messy. It was not a

1345
01:18:36,280 --> 01:18:39,280
Speaker 1: romantic relationship. When she wanted more of my time, I

1346
01:18:39,280 --> 01:18:41,720
Speaker 1: should have backed away, but I didn't. I want to

1347
01:18:41,760 --> 01:18:44,599
Speaker 1: express my sincere regret that I did not set firm

1348
01:18:44,680 --> 01:18:48,920
Speaker 1: enough boundaries. The judge said the offending was a significant

1349
01:18:48,920 --> 01:18:51,559
Speaker 1: breach of trust, but it was in Jarmey's favor that

1350
01:18:51,600 --> 01:18:55,080
Speaker 1: her indecencies had not involved contact with the victims genitals.

1351
01:18:55,479 --> 01:18:57,840
Speaker 1: He noted she was a first time offender with good

1352
01:18:57,880 --> 01:19:02,160
Speaker 1: prospects of rehabilitation. In New Zealand, every teacher must abide

1353
01:19:02,200 --> 01:19:05,240
Speaker 1: by the Code of Professional Responsibility set by the National

1354
01:19:05,280 --> 01:19:08,040
Speaker 1: Teaching Council. They must make a number of commitments to

1355
01:19:08,120 --> 01:19:12,799
Speaker 1: the teaching profession, learners, families, INFARNO and society. One commitment

1356
01:19:12,920 --> 01:19:15,840
Speaker 1: is I will maintain public trust and confidence in the

1357
01:19:15,880 --> 01:19:19,879
Speaker 1: teaching profession by demonstrating a high standard of professional behavior

1358
01:19:19,880 --> 01:19:23,559
Speaker 1: and integrity. Another is I will work in the best

1359
01:19:23,560 --> 01:19:26,240
Speaker 1: interests of learners by promoting the well being of learners

1360
01:19:26,600 --> 01:19:29,559
Speaker 1: and protecting them from harm, and engaging in ethical and

1361
01:19:29,600 --> 01:19:34,439
Speaker 1: professional relationships with learners that respect professional boundaries. A Third,

1362
01:19:35,160 --> 01:19:37,599
Speaker 1: I will respect the vital role my learners families in

1363
01:19:37,640 --> 01:19:40,880
Speaker 1: Farno play in supporting their children's learning by engaging in

1364
01:19:40,920 --> 01:19:44,320
Speaker 1: relationships with families in Farno that are professional and respectful.

1365
01:19:44,960 --> 01:19:48,640
Speaker 1: And Lastly, I will respect my trusted role in society

1366
01:19:48,920 --> 01:19:51,559
Speaker 1: and the influence I have in shaping the future by

1367
01:19:51,560 --> 01:19:55,160
Speaker 1: promoting and protecting the principles of human rights, sustainability and

1368
01:19:55,160 --> 01:19:57,680
Speaker 1: social justice. It's fair to say that all of the

1369
01:19:57,720 --> 01:20:00,160
Speaker 1: teachers I have encountered in New Zealand's Criminal Court thought

1370
01:20:00,320 --> 01:20:02,320
Speaker 1: over the years have flown in the face of this

1371
01:20:02,400 --> 01:20:05,559
Speaker 1: code and flagrantly ignored the commitments by which they should

1372
01:20:05,560 --> 01:20:08,599
Speaker 1: be operating every minute of every hour they were working

1373
01:20:08,720 --> 01:20:12,600
Speaker 1: or engaging with students. Offenders like Kearney, Herrick Parker and

1374
01:20:12,720 --> 01:20:15,559
Speaker 1: Jami all shatter the public trust and confidence in the

1375
01:20:15,560 --> 01:20:20,760
Speaker 1: teaching profession. Their wild manipulation of children, their wholly inappropriate behavior,

1376
01:20:21,120 --> 01:20:25,439
Speaker 1: and their insidious, deviant and damaging offending makes people question

1377
01:20:25,720 --> 01:20:28,280
Speaker 1: who they are leaving the young people with. But for

1378
01:20:28,400 --> 01:20:31,800
Speaker 1: every evil, second, disgusting offender, there are obviously tens of

1379
01:20:31,840 --> 01:20:35,479
Speaker 1: thousands of other brilliant and valuable educators. Those people are

1380
01:20:35,520 --> 01:20:38,400
Speaker 1: often the ones that bring their abuser colleagues to justice

1381
01:20:38,600 --> 01:20:42,080
Speaker 1: and help rebuild the lives of the young victims. If

1382
01:20:42,120 --> 01:20:44,720
Speaker 1: you have any concerns about a specific teacher or the

1383
01:20:44,720 --> 01:20:47,719
Speaker 1: welfare of a child, please speak up. If you report

1384
01:20:47,720 --> 01:20:50,320
Speaker 1: concerns to a school, there are now strict protocols they

1385
01:20:50,360 --> 01:20:52,840
Speaker 1: have to follow in terms of reporting matters up to

1386
01:20:52,880 --> 01:20:56,080
Speaker 1: the relevant authorities, and if you report concerns to the

1387
01:20:56,120 --> 01:20:59,280
Speaker 1: police or the Ministry for Children ur Na Tamariki, they

1388
01:20:59,320 --> 01:21:02,800
Speaker 1: will be taken seriously. Schools should be a safe haven

1389
01:21:02,880 --> 01:21:05,360
Speaker 1: for kids and by and large they are in New Zealand.

1390
01:21:05,760 --> 01:21:08,320
Speaker 1: Those individuals who choose to hurt children need to be

1391
01:21:08,360 --> 01:21:10,840
Speaker 1: held to recount and it is up to everyone in

1392
01:21:10,880 --> 01:21:14,240
Speaker 1: the community to be vigilant in reporting anything that doesn't look,

1393
01:21:14,640 --> 01:21:18,599
Speaker 1: sound or feel right. For more information on her to contact.

1394
01:21:18,640 --> 01:21:21,519
Speaker 1: If you're worried about a situation like anything outlined in

1395
01:21:21,520 --> 01:21:26,840
Speaker 1: this podcast, please see the show notes. A Moment in

1396
01:21:26,880 --> 01:21:29,680
Speaker 1: Crime is an enzed Me podcast written and hosted by

1397
01:21:29,720 --> 01:21:32,680
Speaker 1: me An Elsk, senior Crime and Justice reporter for The

1398
01:21:32,680 --> 01:21:36,400
Speaker 1: New Zealand Herald. The podcast is produced by myself, enzed me,

1399
01:21:36,520 --> 01:21:40,599
Speaker 1: audio engineer James Irwin and podcast production manager Ethan Sills.

1400
01:21:41,280 --> 01:21:44,439
Speaker 1: Thanks to my colleague Jess Davidson and another anonymous helper

1401
01:21:44,640 --> 01:21:48,280
Speaker 1: for stepping in as voice actors on this episode. To

1402
01:21:48,360 --> 01:21:51,320
Speaker 1: every person who has survived any of the offenders mentioned

1403
01:21:51,400 --> 01:21:54,880
Speaker 1: in this episode, thank you for your bravery, thank you

1404
01:21:54,920 --> 01:21:57,760
Speaker 1: for coming forward and sharing your stories and helping to

1405
01:21:57,800 --> 01:22:01,000
Speaker 1: stop these awful predators from hurting any more young people.

1406
01:22:01,800 --> 01:22:04,639
Speaker 1: And to anyone else who has been abused, please reach

1407
01:22:04,680 --> 01:22:07,960
Speaker 1: out and tell someone. Episodes of a Moment in Crime

1408
01:22:07,960 --> 01:22:12,560
Speaker 1: are usually released monthly on inzidhero dot co dot inzid, iHeartRadio,

1409
01:22:12,760 --> 01:22:16,120
Speaker 1: and all of your usual podcast apps. If you have

1410
01:22:16,160 --> 01:22:18,280
Speaker 1: a crime or case you'd like me to consider covering,

1411
01:22:18,680 --> 01:22:22,040
Speaker 1: email and a dot lesk at enzidme dot co dot

1412
01:22:22,040 --> 01:22:22,400
Speaker 1: inzeed