Why was this guy put through so much on such weak evidence?

No wonder few men are willing to be teachers these days with the risk of this sort of treatment

A judge has thrown out sex charges against a Wellington primary teacher, saying he had found it "implausible, then unlikely and then impossible" that offences had been committed. In a rare move, Wellington District Court judge Bruce Davidson told the jury, who were due to begin deliberating yesterday, that he was removing the case from them and discharging the teacher. He invited the jury to stay to hear his reasons and most remained to see the end of the week-long case they had been going to decide.

The judge granted permanent name suppression for the teacher and the school he had taught at in 1996, when the offences were alleged to have occurred. The teacher has been on suspension since his arrest last May. The teacher had denied two charges of sexual violation by rape, one of indecent assault and two of assault against a seven-year-old pupil.

The Crown alleged he had raped the pupil in a school corridor and also in a small office in his classroom. He was supposed to have touched her genitals while she was at his home. He was also alleged to have kicked her and pushed a couch over her feet.

Judge Davidson said that as the trial went on he had found it "implausible, then unlikely and then impossible" that the teacher could have committed the offences or that the jury could convict him. He said that by the end of the defence case it was clear it would be unsafe to let the jury deliberate and possibly convict.

Judge Davidson said any guilty verdict would be a miscarriage of justice and no conviction could have been regarded as safe. The opportunity for the teacher to have committed the offences was so limited as to make it impossible. The girl who had made the allegations had memory issues that were troubling and disturbing and Judge Davidson said there was a strong suspicion that she had come to believe in her own fantasy.

Released from the dock, the teacher was hugged by his wife and called out "yeehah" to his supporters. After court the teacher did not want to comment but his supporters expressed relief at the decision. It was not known whether the man will return to teaching.

Report here



(And don't forget your ration of Wicked Thoughts for today)