10-year-old Hamilton pupil raped another boy at school camp

The woman, who was not named to protect her son's identity, said another child witnessed the incident. This image is a stock image.

One 10-year-old boy has raped another at a school camp.

The mother of a Hamilton primary school student believes the school and other authorities have tried to brush the incident under the carpet, Fairfax reports.

The woman, who was not named to protect her son's identity, said another child witnessed the incident.

A police spokesperson said police received a complaint in April of an alleged sexual assault between two boys at a Hamilton school camp.

The matter was fully investigated by police but due to the alleged offender's age, no charges will be laid.

Both boys have since left the school.

The victim's mother told Fairfax the school and the ministry had failed her son by not properly supervising and failing to tell other parents there was a serious incident at the camp.

"I was told by the police my son had been raped - not [told] by the principal. It was as though they just wanted to brush the whole thing under the carpet," she said.

A former board of trustee member said policy was followed and the matter handed to CYF.

"We did exactly what we could," the board member told Fairfax.

"It's out of our scope to deal with it. So we followed the policy, which was: call the police and call CYF and they carried through with their investigation."

Ministry of Education head of sector enablement and support Katrina Casey said the school did the most important things right.

"The situations we really worry about is when a school doesn't take allegations seriously, or tries to brush them under the carpet," Casey said.

"The most important thing for the safety and welfare of this boy, and for other children at the school was that police and CYFs were immediately informed, investigated the incident, and took any action required. This is what is prescribed by our justice system.

"That is exactly what happened.

"The alleged offender was immediately suspended from the school, and has not returned. He is currently being homeschooled and his ongoing care and supervision is a matter for CYFs."

Casey said it was not the role of any school to carry an investigation into an alleged incident, to get involved in the details, or to brief parents about an incident that is being investigated.

"That would have breached the privacy of the victim in this case, amongst other things," she said.

"Allegations of sexual assault must be carefully handled and cannot be dealt with in the same way as a bomb threat or a school fire. That is why we provide schools with specific guidance in cases of alleged sexual abuse, which we passed on to the Waikato Times, but which they ignored."

Casey said it was understandable the boy's mother was upset and angry.

"It's a terrible situation for any parent to face."