Older teacher who seduced schoolgirl and then married her, was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison in New Zealand, reports The New Zealand Herald.
The investigation found that the 70-year-old man, while working as a high school teacher from 2008 to 2010, sexually harassed a female student who was aged between 12 and 16 at the time. He “touched her thighs and buttocks” when she was 13 years old. The girl later moved to another school, but the man continued to meet her. During meetings he “undressed her completely” but refused to have direct sexual contact with her until she was of the age of consent for fear of prosecution.
When the girl turned 16, the teacher started having sex with her. When she turned 22, the man married her, but their marriage soon fell apart. The girl went to Australia, where in 2021 she told about the years of abuse by the teacher to the police in the state of New South Wales. Australian law enforcement officials passed on the information to their New Zealand counterparts. In 2022, the teacher was questioned for the first time. He was sure he had done nothing illegal as he had sexual contact with the girl only when she turned 16.
On Thursday, May 30, the court sentenced the man to two years and eight months in prison on four counts of having sex with a person aged 12 to 16. In addition, the adult offender has been added to the list of persons who have committed crimes against sexual privacy.