Stephen Hovell and James Parker. Photos / Petrina Hodgson/File
The former chairman of Pamapuria School, where paedophile James Parker was a teacher, has come to the defence of the man who was principal at the time, saying he wasn't the only one to make mistakes.
An Employment Relations Authority determination has found former Pamapuria School principal Stephen Hovell was
rightly sacked for failing to ensure the safety of students at the Far North school.
Mr Hovell was dismissed in February after an investigation found he did not take appropriate action when concerns were first raised about Parker, his deputy principal.
Parker is awaiting sentencing on a raft of sex abuse charges, laid last year, relating to sleepovers with boys at his Awanui farm.
The employment investigation found Mr Hovell sought to protect his deputy principal, rather than his students, at the time of the initial police complaint in 2009.
