Mr Pope said he was contacted in 2009 by one of the complainants who told him about the allegation. Mr Pope asked if he had reported it to police and arranged to meet with the former pupil the following day but he didn't turn up.
Mr Pope said the teachers' union told him he shouldn't be the one to contact police. However, when police started investigating a similar complaint by another former student, Mr Pope alerted them to the man who had contacted him.
Charges were laid in November 2010 but Mr Pope was unable to reveal anything until the trial began.
"There hasn't been a day in the past year that it hasn't entered into my thinking space."
A principal for 26 years, 20 at Selwyn, he said the incident had been the most traumatic in his professional career.
A second letter, issued on behalf of the school board of trustees, was sent to families telling them about the outcome of Lovatt's case. "As a school community we acknowledge the significant trauma that two former students suffered while enrolled at Selwyn School," the letter said.
"We commend them for their decision to come forward and speak out. While we cannot take responsibility for [Lovatt's] actions we accept that the offences occurred on our school site during school hours. We extend our deepest apologies and sympathies to the victims and their families and trust that the verdict has given them some solace and peace of mind."
The mother of a Selwyn Primary student, who didn't want to be named, said she was disgusted by what had happened but was satisfied with how the school had notified the parents about the case.
