{"id":647135,"date":"2026-10-31T18:48:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-31T18:48:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/647135\/"},"modified":"2026-10-31T18:48:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-31T18:48:10","slug":"former-auckland-education-worker-hanna-lealiiee-appears-in-court-for-grooming-sex-with-under-16s","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/647135\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Auckland education worker Hanna Lealiiee appears in court for grooming, sex with under-16s"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">The court heard Lealiiee has held various roles at several schools but the name  of the school her victims attended is permanently suppressed. <\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">According to the summary of facts, Lealiiee met the first victim and they began texting, but he thought he was messaging someone else.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">The boy eventually realised he was talking to Lealiiee and the exchanges continued.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">\u201cIf we were together, what would we be doing?\u201d she messaged him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">They began to hang out and at one stage Lealiiee kissed the boy. She messaged after saying she wasn\u2019t sure if he wanted her to do that because of their age difference.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">But they kissed again on another occasion and a couple of weeks later Lealiiee booked a hotel where they had sex multiple times.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Their relationship continued for months until the boy\u2019s older brother persuaded him it was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/nz\/woman-sentenced-for-sexual-offending-against-13-year-old-son-of-partner\/HSFV6C5YKBFPHCBQSVOS7YHMCI\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/nz\/woman-sentenced-for-sexual-offending-against-13-year-old-son-of-partner\/HSFV6C5YKBFPHCBQSVOS7YHMCI\/\">not right<\/a> and he ended it.<\/p>\n<p>The use of threats<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee also met the second boy through school. She got his number and began messaging him.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Once when they were together, they began to have intercourse but because the boy was twitching and moving away, they stopped.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">They tried to have sex on another occasion but again stopped when the boy said he wasn\u2019t enjoying it.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">He later attempted to distance himself from Lealiiee and she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/sexual-assault\/95\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/sexual-assault\/95\/\">threatened<\/a> to tell the principal of his bad behaviour at school and get him suspended if he kept \u201cbeing like this\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">The boy felt scared by this threat but, after a couple of months, cut off contact anyway.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018I could go to jail\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee met the third boy and began messaging him, again asking \u201cwhat would happen if we were at home alone together?\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">They began a sexual relationship, with Lealiiee once saying, \u201cI could go to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/department-of-corrections\/\" target=\"_self\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/topic\/department-of-corrections\/\">jail<\/a> for this\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">The boy later realised what was happening was wrong and ended the relationship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee began spending time with the fourth boy and they had sex on two occasions before he told her he no longer wanted to and distanced himself.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">When <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVZk_MkUcWzzjC2Cs4TfavLbCQ4rwZcLsr5RRnzBR-655PikKCBoSYiX0YWWaxgN3QImLYfSq6kSlrwYLiqWIme1KCReszdsR7vkht0Q5OI_RDLIIxapQ9sFcGX51ncA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVZk_MkUcWzzjC2Cs4TfavLbCQ4rwZcLsr5RRnzBR-655PikKCBoSYiX0YWWaxgN3QImLYfSq6kSlrwYLiqWIme1KCReszdsR7vkht0Q5OI_RDLIIxapQ9sFcGX51ncA\">police<\/a> spoke to her, Lealiiee admitted what she had done, saying she knew it was wrong but thought it was okay because she was friends with them.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">She told police she liked the attention from the boys.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Planning and premeditation\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee was supported in court this week by a small group of wh\u0101nau and friends.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">None of the victims were present.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Crown lawyer Ben Bosomworth referred to a report where the writer suggested one reason for Lealiiee\u2019s behaviour was that she had a lack of adult sexual partners at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Bosomworth said he would oppose any sentence discount for Lealiiee for this explanation because it was a reality for many adults, not a reason to offend.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">He said there were \u201cseveral\u201d features of what Lealiiee had done to the first victim that made it worse, such as her \u201cplanning and premeditation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee identified her target and groomed him for sex, going as far as booking a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVdWgk6Fu6iNbErnTWuYxoXEi2cjqTqgtgSayC9NzARvZTHtzgXsTepxUUapuuUGpp-rTGs349LYeqIHvurzoeghp46oqAFLl3Rz7jEidwfiX4rMZG85rnNzKqZSlzbw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/goto?url=CAESYwHrOzAVdWgk6Fu6iNbErnTWuYxoXEi2cjqTqgtgSayC9NzARvZTHtzgXsTepxUUapuuUGpp-rTGs349LYeqIHvurzoeghp46oqAFLl3Rz7jEidwfiX4rMZG85rnNzKqZSlzbw\">hotel<\/a> to facilitate the conduct, Bosomworth said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">This went \u201cfar beyond\u201d sporadic instances of sexual contact, he said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">He also highlighted the victim\u2019s vulnerability, with a significant age gap and a breach of trust. <\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee was in a position of authority, integrated into the boy\u2019s school and seen as an adult in his life, Bosomworth said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Bosomworth acknowledged Lealiiee had shown \u201cgenuine\u201d remorse and some insight into what she had done.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Lealiiee\u2019s lawyer Stu Kett argued his client\u2019s sex with the boys was \u201csporadic\u201d over an extended period.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">He asked for sentence discounts for her guilty pleas, remorse, accountability and background.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">He said that in prison, where Lealiiee was already remanded, she was using her time to work on herself and become a meaningful and contributing member of society again.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">But there was \u201cno argument\u201d the end sentence was going to be one of imprisonment, Kett said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Judge Nicola Mathers said she needed more time to go over the material before her and pushed the sentencing into next month. <\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She\u2019s currently based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.<\/p>\n<p class=\"VFgYVkWVN\" style=\"display:none\">Join the NZ Herald\u2019s Open Justice team for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1049-case-by-case-338673756\/?pname=nzh_web&amp;sc=podcast_show\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"https:\/\/www.iheart.com\/podcast\/1049-case-by-case-338673756\/\" target=\"_blank\">Case by Case<\/a>, a video and podcast series examining the disputes and decisions making headlines across New Zealand. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The court heard Lealiiee has held various roles at several schools but the name of the school her&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":647136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[16425,51,1349,84,2082,2740,48958,274027,78,317122,111,139,69,7680,213,109398,102,12767],"class_list":["post-647135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-appears","tag-auckland","tag-court","tag-education","tag-for","tag-former","tag-grooming","tag-hanna","tag-in","tag-lealiiee","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-sex","tag-sports","tag-under16s","tag-with","tag-worker"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/647136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}