NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Auckland rugby coach Alosio Taimo guilty of child sex charges

By Sam Hurley & Anna Leask
NZ Herald·
23 Oct, 2018 10:24 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Alosio Taimo was on trial in the High Court at Auckland since August. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Alosio Taimo was on trial in the High Court at Auckland since August. Photo / Jason Oxenham

An Auckland school rugby coach facing more than 100 charges of sexually abusing 18 young boys has been found guilty of the majority of his offending.

Alosio Taimo's trial in the High Court at Auckland began in August before a jury heard the allegations against the 55-year-old which dated back as far as the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Today, the jury return verdicts on each individual charge - a total of 106.

They found him guilty of all but 11 charges.

Taimo stood in the dock while each verdict was read.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

He showed no emotion.

Taimo was accused of abusing boys at his home, in his car, in school sports sheds, in a classroom and in a South Auckland park from 1987 to 2016.

Crown prosecutor Jasper Rhodes said the youngest of Taimo's alleged victims was 9 at the time, while the eldest was 16.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Initially, there were nine complainants and 53 charges against Taimo, who came to New Zealand from Samoa in 1987 and initially moved in with his sister in the suburb of Ōtara.

Rhodes said Taimo's offending first came to light when one of the boys' aunty overheard him "talking to other children about what had happened".

After the Herald and other media published Taimo's name more complainants came forward.

The allegations grew to 83 charges and 18 complainants.

Discover more

New Zealand|education

Coach's indecent assault trial: 'I was just a little boy'

12 Sep 12:25 AM
New Zealand|education

Rugby coach 'exploited and abused' children, court hears

22 Aug 12:38 AM
New Zealand|education

High Court jury told: 'He won't stop until he gets what he wants'

23 Aug 05:00 AM
New Zealand|education

'That's not true' - rugby coach refutes sex allegations

01 Oct 10:15 PM

One of the complainants, now 41, said during the trial: "As a 12-year-old you're pretty much - your body's frozen."

"At that age, you're more in shock. Now that I'm sitting here, and I'm 41, you just think back and you're just helpless," he told the court.

He said Taimo touched him twice.

"When you're by yourself – that's when the darkness happens," he said.

Taimo's defence argued all the allegations were "lies" and a "fabrication".

"That's not true," Taimo said when he took the stand to give evidence in his own defence.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"I never did that to him ... That's never happened."

He remained on the stand for days as he was questioned, challenged and asked to give his version of events.

"That's ridiculous," he said of the allegations.

The list of charges, however, grew during the trial to 106, while the Crown also revealed a graphic photograph found on Taimo's phone showing him engaged in a sexual act with a young man.

The image was described but not shown to the jury after Justice Simon Moore ruled it was too graphic.

The young man in the photograph with Taimo was not one of the complainants.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Suppression orders prevent the Herald from naming any schools or sports clubs associated with Taimo's alleged offending.

During the trial, a woman associated with the trial was also accused of contempt of court after two jurors told Justice Moore she approached them to talk about the case, while also offering home-baked muffins.

She was granted interim name suppression and will appear in court again later this year.

Taimo, meanwhile, will be sentenced in December.

Justice Simon Moore thanked the jury for their efforts, which he described as careful.

He excused them from jury service for seven years, given the harrowing nature of the Taimo trial.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"You took two-and-a-half months out of your lives, it's been a fraught and emotionally draining experience," Justice Moore said.

"Each of you has put your lives on hold and you've sacrificed your own lives in that sense.

"Our community owes you a debt of gratitude for so willingly and conscientiously performing such an important duty."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

New Zealand

'Dream come true': Blues up-and-comer signs for Hawke's Bay Magpies

23 Jun 04:30 AM
New Zealand

Hunt for motorcyclist after fatal hit-and-run: Police get several responses

23 Jun 04:20 AM
CrimeUpdated

2000 litres of petrol allegedly stolen from Northland service station

23 Jun 04:04 AM

Anzor’s East Tāmaki hub speeds supply

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

Hunt for motorcyclist after fatal hit-and-run: Police get several responses

Hunt for motorcyclist after fatal hit-and-run: Police get several responses

23 Jun 04:20 AM

Johnson suffered critical injuries after he was hit on a pedestrian crossing.

2000 litres of petrol allegedly stolen from Northland service station

2000 litres of petrol allegedly stolen from Northland service station

23 Jun 04:04 AM
NZ First drafting bill to require only one Ngāpuhi settlement

NZ First drafting bill to require only one Ngāpuhi settlement

23 Jun 03:46 AM
Watch: Seymour holds post-Cabinet stand-up as NZ's stance on Iran questioned
live

Watch: Seymour holds post-Cabinet stand-up as NZ's stance on Iran questioned

23 Jun 03:22 AM
Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste
sponsored

Kaibosh gets a clean-energy boost in the fight against food waste

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP