A man with past indecency convictions who went on to abuse nine girls was able to pass multiple police checks and be employed as a teacher, despite authorities warning the Teaching Council not to allow him unsupervised access to children.
Police say the man was able to conceal his previous convictions from future employers under the Clean Slate Act.
The shocking revelations have been confirmed by a Herald investigation into Auckland teacher Timothy Fisher, who was jailed last week for four years and five months for indecently touching young girls at a private after-school tutoring company, and making objectionable child abuse material.
The Teaching Council has apologised to victims for the harm caused and begun a “thorough investigation”, saying no child should be subject to abuse by a teacher and the safety of children is paramount.
The Herald can also now confirm Fisher was censured by a disciplinary tribunal in 2021 for misconduct, including making a sexual hand gesture to students, but was not required to inform his employer of the findings.
Fisher worked as an English teacher for EduExperts – a brand owned by Crimson Consulting - at the time of the 2024 physical offending.
Some of the child exploitation material he created, including filming himself masturbating while watching female students, occurred at an unnamed school where he previously worked.
The Herald understands Fisher has worked at at least five state schools since his registration in 2011.
Superintendent Blair MacDonald said the Teaching Council made four vetting requests to police for Fisher in 2011, 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Those checks were carried out in accordance with the Criminal Records (Clean Slate) Act.
Police marked Fisher’s 2014 application with a “red stamp”, recommending he not have unsupervised access to children, young people or vulnerable members of society.
“While [the red stamp] is now an obsolete practice, at the time it was used to convey concerns after all available records held in the police database had been reviewed,” MacDonald said.
“Any decision-making on the results of vetting reports sits with the requesting agency.”
The council originally refused to confirm whether Fisher’s prior offending was flagged during these checks, citing confidentiality.
However, after being provided with the police statement confirming it was on notice of concerns about Fisher, deputy chief executive Clive Jones provided a detailed timeline of events.
It showed that in July 2014, Fisher applied for a new practising certificate; this application included a disclosure from Fisher of his previous convictions.
Until that point, Jones said, the council had not been aware of his history.
The council received the red-stamped police vet that same month.
From there, the council did not grant Fisher a new certificate and referred the matter to its Complaints Assessment Committee (CAC), which carried out a 2015 review.
“The Teaching Council subsequently received an updated police vet for Mr Fisher in December 2015 that no longer contained any red stamp warning, and based on the decision of the CAC and the updated police vet, issued Mr Fisher with a new provisional practising certificate in March 2016.”
Jones said a thorough investigation had begun and he encouraged anyone with concerns to come forward.
The council refused to release the 2015 CAC decision to the Herald.
“While we acknowledge there is public interest in this case, we do not believe it outweighs the need to protect the confidentiality of information before the CAC.”
Jones said the registration and certification process was designed to be “thorough and rigorous”.
He defended the organisation’s decision-making as “carefully considered and consistent with the prevailing law”.
However, Simon Craggs, now principal at one of the first schools Fisher worked at, felt the system had let students down and put them at unnecessary risk.
Fisher was employed as a relief teacher at Papakura High School from July 2011 to December 2012.
Craggs said that although the school was not aware of any issues or complaints against Fisher during that period, the situation was concerning.
“We rely heavily on the Teaching Council police checks to ensure that teachers are safe to be teaching.
“It’s incredibly disappointing that somebody with the record of offending that he has continued to be allowed to teach, and had his [certification] renewed despite some quite concerning offending in his past. I hope that current processes would not allow that to happen because we do place a lot of trust in the Teaching Council.”
Fisher was first registered and certified in 2011, with practising certificates renewed in 2016 and 2017.
The council confirmed Fisher met all necessary criteria, including good character requirements, at the time of his 2011 registration.
His last practising certificate expired in 2020 – meaning he had worked with EduExperts for four years without a current certificate.
However, the council said teachers working for private tutoring companies weren’t subject to practising certificate requirements.
Responsibility for carrying out police vetting fell on both the council and Fisher’s employer.
“Employers retain full responsibility for conducting risk assessments, even if police vetting is outsourced to another agency like the Teaching Council.”
Ministry of Education operations and integration leader Sean Teddy said that as a private business operating a franchise model, EduExperts was not a legally recognised education provider under the Education and Training Act, or subject to the same vetting requirements as state schools.
“However, regardless of legal obligations, there remains a clear moral and operational responsibility to ensure the safety and well-being of children and young people” in the care of private education providers.
An EduExperts spokeswoman said franchisees were required to hire only registered teachers with active practising certificates.
“We understand the teacher in question had an active teaching certificate when he was hired, and the franchisee had obtained a positive character reference.”
EduExperts franchisees were required to comply with all applicable child safety laws.
“Our investigations into this matter are ongoing.”
Fisher was previously censured by the Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal, the Herald can reveal.
He was charged with engaging in serious misconduct, failing to engage in ethical and professional relationships with learners, and failing to provide high-quality and effective teaching.
In early 2017, Fisher worked as an English and drama teacher at Wesley College in Pukekohe, South Auckland.
The tribunal decision said Fisher used inappropriate language in class with Year 12 drama students, including the word “f***” and referring to a student as a “little b****”.
He also used his fingers to simulate sexual intercourse.
“Fisher interacted with students in an over-familiar way by discussing personal, sexual and other inappropriate subjects, such as drug use,” it said.
He also showed students a photo of cannabis plants.
He resigned from the school that year, saying he was “tormented” by his students.
His lawyer told the tribunal Fisher’s over-familiarity with students was symptomatic of someone desperate to establish a good classroom atmosphere.
“It was not something that was done with ulterior motives.”
The tribunal said the sexualised nature of Fisher’s behaviour was concerning.
An annotation was added to the teachers’ register, and he was ordered to undergo professional development and required to undergo supervision.
Asked why Fisher was not required to inform his current employer of the 2021 decision, the council said this was at the tribunal’s discretion.
Lane Nichols is Auckland desk editor for the New Zealand Herald with more than 20 years’ experience in the industry.
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.
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