KEY POINTS:
A high school teacher all the girls had a "crush" on created an environment of trust only to breach it by getting too close to his students, the Auckland District Court heard today.
Former Glenfield College head of Maori studies, Heremia Smith, 30, is facing 11 charges of
indecent assault involving a girl aged between 12 and 16, a sexual violation charge and two charges of sexual conduct with a young person aged under 16.
They related to alleged offending between 2002 and 2005.
Six of the seven complainants were students at Glenfield College on Auckland's North Shore.
Judge Josephine Bouchier yesterday lifted interim name suppression in the case.
She reminded jurors the onus of proof was on the Crown, it was not for Mr Smith to prove his innocence.
The court heard how Mr Smith was a dedicated teacher, a highly respected and trusted staff member who quickly rose through the ranks.
Crown prosecutor Anna Pollett said Mr Smith had started working at the college in 2001 as a long-term reliever and the following year was made head of department of Maori studies.
Ms Pollett said Mr Smith regarded his role as a "24-hour job".
She claimed Mr Smith was a mentor to Maori students, coached sports teams and lead the kapa haka group but breached the "environment of trust" he had created.
She said the accusations dated from mid-2002, when a then-14-year-old female student - who cannot legally be identified - started talking to Mr Smith about problems with friends and family.
The crown claimed Mr Smith once drove that complainant home in his car and, when they pulled up outside, asked her to put her seat down and pull her shirt up.
She apparently refused and ran inside.
The student, now 20 and married, said in evidence yesterday she had gone into Mr Smith's office the next day, straddled him as he sat on a chair and taken off her top.
She said Mr Smith touched her breasts for a couple of minutes and asked her if she would go down on him.
She said she did not because she felt "sick" and "a bit awkward" and went home.
"I just remember getting down and going home and then the whole shit storm from my mum."
Mr Gotlieb asked the woman if she had "a bit of a crush" on Mr Smith.
"Who didn't?," she replied.
The trial, which will hear evidence from all seven complainants, their parents and past and present staff of Glenfield College, is expected to take seven days.