Recruitment and safety check review underway at North Island school that hired ex-athlete sex offender

The man has been removed from the school's website. Photo / iStock

A review into recruitment and safety checking processes is underway at a North Island primary school that hired a former New Zealand athlete who sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.

Earlier this year, the Herald revealed the man had been hired by the school, despite it receiving information from police about the man’s history as part of a police vetting process.

Following this, the Herald sent questions to the school under the Official Information Act.

These included a request for correspondence between the school and its board regarding the man’s employment, and all correspondence between the school and government agencies regarding the hiring of a man who had admitted a sex offence.

The school withheld the information sought, citing privacy and claiming some of the information was privileged.

However, it did provide a letter sent by Secretary for Education, Ellen MacGregor-Reid, dated February 20 this year - a few weeks after the Herald first enquired about the man’s employment.

Using her power as Secretary under the Children’s Act 2014, MacGregor-Reid requested a list of all children’s workers employed by the school, documentation of safety checks for each worker and a copy of the risk assessment for each worker.

The safety check information included the school’s verification of the applicant’s identity, reference checks, employment history, police vetting and any additional information that was considered as part of the process.

A ministry spokesperson said the school co-operated with the ministry’s request for information and was “engaging constructively” in a review of its recruitment and safety checking processes.

The school was approached by the Herald regarding the review but declined to comment.

Judge said conviction would be ‘crushing blow’ for sportsman

In 2023, the former sportsman pleaded guilty to having a sexual connection with the teen, and indecent communication, which included sending photos of his genitals.

A judge at the time said a conviction would be a “crushing blow” to the man’s future prospects, finding that “the gravity of the offending viewed as a whole is relatively low”.

The man was granted a discharge without conviction as well as permanent name suppression.

The court ordered an emotional harm payment to the victim of $2000.

Since the February story on his role at a primary school, the man has been removed as a staff member from the school’s website.

Earlier this year, the teen’s mother shared her belief with the Herald that: “The sport and their success in sport comes ahead of the safety of young women and girls”.

The success of an individual’s career, she said, should never take precedence over the rights of victims.

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.

Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.