Warning: This article discusses child abuse and exploitation material
A man with historical indecency convictions was able to get work as a teacher for a private education provider where he sexually abused at least eight children, the Herald can reveal.
“This is inevitable, completely justified and long overdue. I need some help,” Timothy Fisher, 57, told a judge from the dock after being sent to prison this week.
He admitted touching the girls, whom he met through his role as an English teacher for EduExperts – a brand owned by Crimson Consulting – as well as making objectionable child abuse material.
But the Thursday afternoon sentencing at Manukau District Court wasn’t the first time Fisher had been before the courts for committing indecencies.
A court document obtained by the Herald reveals that in 2002 he was convicted of three counts of committing an indecent act.
Despite these convictions, it appears he was able to pass background checks and gain employment at various schools and teaching providers. It is unclear if his convictions were subject to the Clean Slate scheme.
EduExperts, the Crimson-“powered”, after-school tutoring brand that Fisher worked under, said it was shocked by the revelations and undertaking an urgent investigation.
In a statement provided by a public relations representative, the company said Fisher was a contracted teacher at an independently-owned franchisee with a licence to operate under the EduExperts brand.
“Our understanding is that the contracted teacher had been working at [the independent franchisee] since 2019 and his contract was terminated once police commenced an investigation into his conduct.
“As a nationwide and trusted education provider, EduExperts is disappointed by this case and expresses its sympathy to those impacted by the contracted teacher’s conduct. The safety and wellbeing of students is our top priority.”
The statement said Fisher held a current practising certificate and the independent franchisee had received a positive reference letter from a school where he formerly worked.
Franchisees were required to follow strict recruitment processes, including only hiring registered teachers with current practising certificates from the Teaching Council.
Any teacher applying for or renewing their practising certificate was required to undergo a police vet, the statement said.
“EduExperts is conducting its own investigation into this case and working with [the franchisee] to review this in detail. Any further questions relating to the case should be directed to police.”
The independent franchise owner, whom the Herald cannot name for legal reasons, said she was devastated to learn of Fisher’s offending and her heart went out to the victims.
She said she bought the franchise in 2019. The previous owners told her Fisher held a current teaching licence, provided the school reference letter and “said they did all the checks”.
She was stunned to learn yesterday that Fisher had previous convictions and that some of the offending had happened at the company’s premises.
“We feel shock and sorrow. We trust our teachers ... and try our best to keep an eye on everybody.”
She said her company had security cameras and had passed all the footage to police.
It had co-operated fully since learning Fisher was under investigation last year and immediately dismissed him as a teacher when alerted.
She said Fisher was a “very good” teacher. Learning he was a child sex offender was difficult to comprehend.
“You see the face but not the heart.”
At the Thursday hearing, Judge Sacha Nepe sentenced Fisher to four years and five months’ imprisonment on 14 charges, which included committing indecent acts on children and making objectionable material.
She gave him a 25% discount for his guilty plea, 10% for childhood issues raised in his psychiatric report and 5% for the counselling he had undertaken.
His lawyer, Tim Blackwell, said Fisher “knows he does have a problem”.
Blackwell sought a discount for remorse and told the court some of his client’s comments to report writers had been taken out of context.
Prosecutor Kristy Li said Fisher told a report writer he did not feel remorseful because he felt the victims were not “traumatised” by his offending.
Judge Nepe sided with Li: “I am not prepared, Mr Fisher, to give a discount for remorse. I have looked at the material before me… In my view there was an almost justification for the behaviour.”
She uplifted his sentence by two months for his prior offending.
A place on the sex offender register was automatic.
A summary of facts says Fisher taught English at two of the franchisee’s branches.
The youngest victim was 9 and the oldest 14.
Almost all of the indecent offending listed on the document occurred at one campus, with the physical offending occurring in February 2024.
Fisher indecently abused the young girls in various ways, including touching their buttocks, lower backs, chest, thigh and groin area over clothing.
He tried to photograph one child’s groin area and legs from under her desk while she did schoolwork in an undisclosed location.
Eight of the nine victims were offended against physically.
Judge Nepe said some of the videos Fisher created were made at an unnamed high school he had worked at.
On one occasion, Fisher filmed himself masturbating in an undisclosed location next to two female students who were blindfolded and not aware of his actions.
Other footage he captured showed unknown prepubescent girls swimming in a public pool while he pleasured himself from inside a sauna.
Another video depicted him recording himself masturbating in a classroom at the high school while nearby students were unaware. In a different clip, he filmed himself masturbating with a child on his lap.
He also was found in possession of objectionable material, including of adults abusing children.
When spoken to by police, he denied indecently assaulting the students but stated he had “crossed a line” with the girls and “got too comfortable”.
For his most recent offending, Fisher was charged with seven representative counts of committing an indecent act on a child.
Each carries a maximum of 10 years’ imprisonment.
A representative charge means the offending occurred more than once.
Police also laid four attempted intimate visual recording charges and one representative indecent act on a young person charge.
In addition, Fisher faced a representative charge for possessing objectionable publications and another representative charge for making an objectionable publication.
The maximum term for these charges is 10 and 14 years’ imprisonment respectively.
Detective Senior Sergeant Martin Bienvenu, Counties Manukau CIB, acknowledged the courage of the young people who came forward to report the offending.
Asked if Fisher had been subject to the Clean Slate scheme, Bienvenu said he couldn’t comment and referred queries to the Ministry of Justice.
A Justice Ministry spokeswoman said convictions were automatically concealed under the scheme if the person was eligible. However, the scheme did not extend to people applying for certain jobs or roles.
She said the Children’s Act required safety checks for people working with children and the Clean Slate Act did not apply to those safety checks.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues such as sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.