8 Sep 2014

Teacher accused of indecent acts

1:24 pm on 8 September 2014

The Crown says an Auckland primary school teacher wrongly touched 10 of his students during classroom activities.

The man aged in his 60s has denied 25 charges of indecent acts on girls under the age of 12 over a two-year period.

Suppression orders prevent Radio New Zealand from naming the man or the school where he taught to protect the identity the victims.

Crown prosecutor Dale Dufty told the High Court in Auckland today that the students were touched during lessons and games inside the classroom.

He said they were unaware of anything sinister but what went on was not a game, it was wrong.

The teacher's lawyer, Richard Earwaker, said issues of credibility and accuracy would be issues at the trial, given the age of the girls.

Justice Peters told the jury not to post anything on social media, and failing to take her advice could result in an aborted trial and jurors facing contempt charges.

The judge told jurors they must decide what happened between the teacher and his students and what were the circumstances.