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A teacher has admitted to covertly filming foreign exchange students taking a shower at his home.
Francis Stephen Glenski pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court last week to two charges of filming girls under the age of 16 and one count of possessing objectionable images on his
computer.
Suppression orders - which the Herald on Sunday tried to get lifted in April - preventing publication of the 48-year-old's name, workplace and occupation lapsed after the guilty plea.
Police have raised questions about whether Avondale College, where Glenski was an IT teacher, met its obligations as a caregiver to the international students.
Glenski told the Herald on Sunday he "had a reason" for filming the girls in the shower but declined to elaborate further until he was sentenced.
"I'm extremely remorseful for the impact [of] what I did has had on my children, my ex-partner and Avondale College," he said.
Police raided the teacher's home in March after being alerted by principal Brent Lewis.
A colleague who was fixing Glenski's laptop had found a file with hundreds of images and films of under-age girls and stored the pornography on a memory card, which was then given to Lewis.
Nine of the films were shot last year through a hidden grille and showed two Asian exchange students taking a shower, while a photograph of a neighbour's young daughter, sitting on a trampoline with her genitals exposed, was also found on the computer.
Police believed some of the films were home-made and executed an urgent search warrant early one morning because Glenski was the sole care-giver for his four children. Detectives found the bathroom at the North Shore address matched the one in the footage, as did the trampoline.
After the police raid, Glenski's children were taken into Child Youth and Family care and are now being cared for by their mother in the United States.
Glenski will be sentenced in the Auckland District Court in October.
The charge of making child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 10 years' imprisonment.
Education Ministry guidelines state schools must have "robust" procedures for the selecting and monitoring of homestay carers and residences.
They include:
Police vetting of all people 18 or older living in the home.
Meeting international students every three months to ensure accommodation is suitable.
Ensuring the living conditions are of an acceptable standard, and the caregiver is providing a safe physical and emotional environment.
A statement from Lewis and Avondale College's board of trustees said the case showed the school's systems to protect student wellbeing were "rigorous and effective".
"While the offending did not occur at the school, this matter only came to light because of the checks and balances within our system."
Education Ministry spokeswoman Julia Craven would not comment on whether it was appropriate for two teenage girls to live with a single man, without an adult woman in the home.
Detective Sergeant Andy King confirmed police would investigate whether the school had fulfilled its minimum requirements under the code of practice for pastoral care of foreign students.
Their findings would be sent to the Education Ministry, said King.
International students are big money earners for schools in New Zealand, last year collecting $118 million in tuition fees - an average of $11,388 per student.
