Teacher apologises for assault

A Hawke's Bay teacher convicted of assaulting young pupils has apologised at a school assembly, outraging some parents.

Trevor Apihai, 45, was last week found guilty at Napier District Court of hitting a child with a pencil case, pulling a child from her chair and holding and pulling a child by the wrist.

He was found not guilty on six other counts and five charges were dropped.

Apihai yesterday returned to Te Kura Kaupapa Maori o Ngati Kahungunu ki Heretaunga in Flaxmere to apologise for his actions between July and November last year, The Dominion Post reported.

The mother of one victim said the apology was a sham and "he should not be anywhere near children".

"If he was truly sorry, he would not have pleaded not guilty and kept blaming the kids. I have no doubt he went to the school to apologise as a way of mitigating his offending when he came up before a judge to be sentenced. I don't for a moment think he is sorry for hitting [my child]."

Board of trustees chairwoman Huia Huata said Apihai needed to apologise.

"It was appropriate because it was about our tikanga. Our tikanga tells us we teach our kids about humility ... you address people face to face. You apologise and you acknowledge the wrong you have done," she said.

Some of the victims and their parents were present, she said.

Apihai will be sentenced next week.

- NZPA