A teacher faces assault and confinement charges at Kaikohe Court.
A teacher faces assault and confinement charges at Kaikohe Court.
Whether a small storeroom at a rural kura kaukapa school was called the whare herehere - meaning jail - or the more passive "time-out room" was debated at the trial of a teacher facing serious charges for his alleged mistreatment of pupils.
The first witness was cross-examined by video linkyesterday in the Kaikohe Court trial by jury of former Kura Kaupapa Maori o Whangaroa teacher Hemi Epiha on six assault charges and two of detaining and confining someone under 14 years of age against their will.
At the opening on Monday, Crown prosecutor Mike Smith outlined allegations against Epiha made in statements taken by trained interviewers from four former pupils. All four will be cross-examined in the trial, expected to finish on Friday. The court will hear the six assault charges relate to allegations of the children being hit, dragged and thrown against a wall at different times from 2003 to 2013, Mr Smith said.
The second witness - another former pupil - took the stand via a video link later yesterday, with another two expected today.
The first youth, now a 17-year-old student at secondary school, said he was aged 6 and 7 when he was several times locked in the "cold, dark, scary" room Epiha had called the whare herehere.
Asked by defence lawyer Doug Blaikie if he might have misunderstood the concept of being given "time out" in a resource room, the former pupil said it was Epiha himself who called it the "whare herehere", or jail, and he never heard it referred to as a resource room. He said one day he was locked in there "a long as time", missing lunch and the afternoon's end of school karakia. He was only let out when the buses arrived at home time. At other times he was locked up for shorter times.
The pupil said he sat on the floor crying and calling out "sorry" in Maori even though he did not know why he was being punished. Epiha never responded to his cries or apologies, he said.
The defence witnesses are expected to be heard tomorrow.
