Waugh spoke about dead animals being dumped on the family’s property, clothes slashed in their home’s entranceway and Shepherd’s children being subjected to bullying at school.
The publication of Shepherd’s name “would add significant fuel to that fire”, he argued.
The Crown argued the court should not rule out the chance of other victims coming forward if Shepherd’s name was released to the public: “The principles of open justice do not yield in this case.”
What happened?
One of the victims was just 12 years old when she met Shepherd on her first day at Whanganui High School in 2011.
The teacher often excused her from class so they could spend time together and would compliment her on both her appearance and intelligence. He would communicate with her through text messages outside of class.
At 13, he persuaded her to go surfing with him one morning before school. The trip was not a school activity.
In 2013, he persuaded her to go on another surfing trip with him, this time in New Plymouth.
Their contact became less frequent after this trip.
In the victim’s final year of school, when she was 17, Shepherd began regularly having sexual intercourse with her.
He sent her notes saying he loved her and asking her to run away with him. Their sexual relationship continued even after she had left the school.
During the sentencing last year, the victim spoke through tears about how the offending had affected her life.
The relationship had isolated her from her peers and made her think it was normal to feel pressured into having sex, she said.
“I grew up thinking it was okay and normal for him to want me sexually,” the victim said.
“The way I was groomed in my teens had a direct impact on my mental wellbeing.”
The second victim met Shepherd in 2010 when she was 13.
The teacher had regularly excused her from class so they could spend time together. He had bought her gifts, food and complimented her looks.
Shepherd would message the victim on Facebook and via text message outside of class. When the victim turned 16 in 2013, he began spending more time with her.
During the sentencing, the victim said their relationship in school meant she was “distracted, unmotivated and didn’t have the requirements to get into university”.
“He used a position of trust to manipulate me.”
She said the relationship had destroyed her childhood memories and even now, when she drove through Whanganui, she was in a constant state of alert, panic and anxiety.
At sentencing, defence lawyer Jamie Waugh said the teacher had no previous convictions and accepted it might take a lifetime to make things right.
“The reality for him is that his own behaviour has led to a catastrophic fall from grace, he has lost his profession and his personal life has completely disintegrated.”
The decision
In his decision, Judge Peter Churchman accepted that publishing Shepherd’s name would cause extreme hardship to his family members, but that the public interest outweighed these grounds.
“It seems to me that there’s an argument that the public interest is heightened given the nature of the offending, offending done in secret, and offending done in breach of some fundamental obligations of a teacher towards their pupil,” he said during the High Court appeal.
There was already a level of knowledge of the teacher’s identity in the school and wider community, and publication of Shepherd’s name could clear other teachers at the school from suspicion, he said.
The judge also acknowledged that the victims were firmly opposed to keeping his name secret and that this was a factor he must take into account.
The nature of the offending and the need for accountability also justified his decision to dismiss the appeal, he said.
In a statement, police Detective Sergeant Carey Priest acknowledged the sentencing handed down to Shepherd.
“The strength and bravery from these victims who came forward to assist in the prosecution of this offender cannot be overstated,” Priest said.
“Police worked closely with the victims of this offending, their families and the Teaching Council to ensure that Shepherd was held to account.
“We know it can be incredibly difficult and at times distressing to report or talk about incidents of this nature, but we would like to reassure any victims of sexual offending that we take these matters seriously.”
Whanganui High School said Shepherd began working at Whanganui High School on 4 February 2008 and has not worked at Whanganui High School since 25 September 2020.
Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.
