Heremia Smith leaves court on the second day of his trial. Photo / Greg Bowker
Heremia Smith leaves court on the second day of his trial. Photo / Greg Bowker
KEY POINTS:
An Auckland school teacher has been found guilty on six sex charges involving students.
The jury returned after a day of deliberations in the case of Heremia Smith, 30, formerly head of Maori studies at Glenfield College.
Smith has been on trial in the Auckland District Court onone charge of sexual violation, 11 charges of indecent assault of a girl aged between 12 and 16, and two charges of sexual conduct with a person under 16.
The jury has found him guilty on six charges - four of indecent assault and two charges of sexual conduct with a young person.
He was found not guilty on the other eight charges, including the most serious charge of sexual violation.
The offences were all alleged to have occurred between 2002 and 2006 against seven girls.
Six of the complainants were pupils at the college while the seventh was the complainant in four of the charges, including the most serious sexual violation charge.
Their verdicts were returned about 10 minutes after asking a second question about the legal definition of indecent assault.
Sentencing for Smith is due in March.
Afterwards his lawyer Gary Gotlieb said his client had mixed feelings.
"I suppose he's relieved that he got acquitted of the most serious charges. He got convicted on three of the seven complainants," said Mr Gotlieb. "But I think his feeling was he wanted an end to matters, as everyone did. There is now some conclusion to matters and hopefully everyone can move on."
