A victim gave evidence that Cowan repeatedly crossed physical boundaries, slapping and grabbing her buttocks and tickling her inappropriately.
On two occasions, he put his hands beneath her clothing, conduct Judge Shortland said left the girl “questioning the situation”.
Another victim said she tried to block his advances by holding her arms across her chest, but Cowan would move them aside and continue touching her.
She later discovered images of herself on his phone showing her cleavage.
A third victim said Cowan manufactured concerns she had breast cancer, then used the deception to repeatedly touch her breasts under the guise of conducting checks.
Judge Shortland began sentencing with a warning.
“There is only one outcome today and that is imprisonment.”
The judge said the aggravating features were the power imbalance between Cowan and the victims and premeditation, given the repeated nature.
“There was nothing mitigating about the offending.”
The judge said at trial, it became clear Cowan had “an absolute need to be loved, to give love back and to be accepted”.
“How that was received or interpreted is where things have gone awry and that is why we are here when we are talking about sentencing.”
Crown lawyer Danette Cole sought a starting point of nine-and-a-half years’ imprisonment and said the sentence should be cumulative, given the offending involved three victims.
Cowan’s lawyer Martin Hislop argued for four years, but Judge Shortland considered six-and-a-half years better reflected the nature and seriousness of the offending.
Judge Shortland acknowledged the talents Cowan had as a Pākehā speaking and teaching te reo.
“Some people have a gift for it and even those who have brown skin like me can struggle with it.
“You have that gift.”
Judge Shortland said Cowan was a pillar in the remote community he chose to teach and reiterated his offending was not connected to his teaching career.
“You had contributed to a community where not many teachers go,” Judge Shortland said.
“Someone who wants to contribute and give. School teachers do not just teach, they provide counselling and they provide kai, they do all sorts of other things that people do not see behind the scenes and so you should be given some credit for that.”
Report writers noted Cowan did not accept the verdicts and Judge Shortland said he would have to live with his loss of mana in te ao Māori.
Cowan was sentenced to five years, three months, added to the sex offender register and will be required to go before the parole board for release.
Shannon Pitman is a Whangārei-based reporter for Open Justice covering courts in the Te Tai Tokerau region. She is of Ngāpuhi/Ngāti Pūkenga descent and has worked in digital media for the past five years. She joined NZME in 2023.
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