\u201cHe was at a vulnerable and formative age and stage,\u201d Judge Murray explained. \u201cYour offending would have been deeply confusing for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
The woman had earlier pleaded guilty to grooming for sexual conduct with a young person, which is punishable by up to three years\u2019 imprisonment, and indecency with a boy under 12, which carries a 10-year maximum sentence. <\/p>\n
The boy was not the defendant\u2019s pupil but frequently interacted with her class. <\/p>\n
Court documents state they messaged each other via social media and Google Docs, used by teachers for grading, for an indeterminate period prior to the boy \u201casking her out\u201d in August last year. <\/p>\n
The defendant wipes away tears during a May 2025 hearing in North Shore District Court. The primary school teacher, who cannot yet be identified, has admitted to grooming and committing an indecent act on an 11-year-old boy. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n
Before that, the teacher had repeatedly encouraged the child to do so. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe would make a good couple,\u201d she wrote at one point, according to the summary of facts she agreed to. <\/p>\n
\u201cIf you ask me out, I\u2019ll say \u2018yes\u2019,\u201d she said at another point. <\/p>\n
After the boy did so, the woman repeatedly told him she loved him. <\/p>\n
The defendant attempted to cover her tracks by communicating through Snapchat, which auto-erases messages, and by erasing their real-time conversations on Google Docs.<\/p>\n
Court documents outlined in detail a 24-day period in August and September 2024 that followed the shift to what the defendant called \u201cdating\u201d. <\/p>\n
The two met unsupervised on multiple occasions, including walks at an Auckland park in which she held the boy\u2019s hand. <\/p>\n
During one scheduled walk, the two decided to instead go to a home belonging to the defendant\u2019s parents, who were on an overseas trip. <\/p>\n
The two wrestled, at which point the teacher grabbed the boy and kissed him. <\/p>\n
She also during that period sent multiple explicit photos of herself partially or fully undressed, telling him: \u201cDon\u2019t tell anyone, this is just for you\u201d.<\/p>\n
On September 6 last year, she slept in the same bed as the boy while staying at his father\u2019s house, she acknowledged in the agreed facts. <\/p>\n
Defence lawyer David Jones KC argued today that his client had been suffering a psychological issue in which she saw herself, as if in virtual reality, as a fellow 11-year-old. <\/p>\n
It stemmed from trauma in her own childhood, he said, describing the situation as \u201ctrauma-bonding\u201d. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re not talking about some sort of predatory behaviour or prurient interest,\u201d Jones argued. <\/p>\n
\u201cShe had a real interest in helping young people with behavioural issues. And she was of the same ilk. She would regress back to the age where she was 11.\u201d<\/p>\n
He pointed repeatedly to the case of fellow teacher Myah Adams, who was sentenced out of Auckland District Court earlier this year to a short term of imprisonment before the High Court decided on appeal that she should instead serve home detention<\/a>. <\/p>\n In that case, Jones said, the offending was much more serious because it involved sex acts on the 15-year-old victim, while the most physical contact that is proven in the current case, he said, is that his client and the boy inappropriately held hands. <\/p>\n Crown solicitor Alysha McClintock noted that an important distinction between the two cases is the ages of the two victims. In the current case, she noted, the victim was much younger and the defendant older. <\/p>\n \u201cThis offending has caused a large amount of anger and hurt,\u201d she said, describing the conduct as \u201con a path to doing something more sexual\u201d. <\/p>\n However, she acknowledged that home detention was an option for the judge based on prior cases, including Adams. <\/p>\n Before making his decision, Judge Murray heard from both of the victim\u2019s parents, whose impact statements were read aloud by a victim advocate. <\/p>\n He also summarised an impact statement from the defendant\u2019s estranged husband, who said he has lost all trust and continues to feel confused and bewildered. <\/p>\n Both of the victim\u2019s parents said they wanted the teacher\u2019s name suppression to be lifted. <\/p>\n \u201cMy son\u2019s innocence and trust have been irreparably damaged,\u201d the boy\u2019s mother wrote, describing the \u201cunimaginable betrayal\u201d of a teacher who was inflicting trauma while pretending to help the boy. <\/p>\n \u201cJustice in this case must … send a clear message that such actions are intolerable.\u201d<\/p>\n The boy\u2019s father described the weekly hour-and-a-half round trip he takes each week to take his son to ongoing counselling sessions. <\/p>\n He recalled seeing changes in his son\u2019s behaviour prior to the defendant\u2019s \u201cself-absorbed, manipulating, cold-hearted actions\u201d being exposed. <\/p>\n She had tried to convince the parents to blame the school and suggested she help home school the boy – all so she could get better access to him, he alleged. <\/p>\n \u201cShe doesn\u2019t have any remorse for the stomach-churning abuse she subjected our son to,\u201d he wrote. \u201cI believe [she] should be banned from going anywhere near any school in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Murray acknowledged the suffering the defendant caused the victim and his family but agreed with the defence that she didn\u2019t need to register as a sex offender based on psychological reports that found her to be a low risk of reoffending. <\/p>\n He settled on an end sentence of six months\u2019 home detention, followed by six months of post-detention conditions. It reflected credits for her guilty pleas, rehabilitation efforts, lack of prior convictions and remorse. <\/p>\n But permanent name suppression was a step too far, the judge said. <\/p>\n \u201cMany in the community are already aware of your offending,\u201d he said, noting that she had reported harassment in the community and having been outed on social media despite suppression orders. <\/p>\n The impact on her own family, while unfortunate, is a normal consequence of criminal offending, he noted, adding that the starting point for such decisions must be the need for open justice. <\/p>\nFormer teacher Myah Adams appears in Auckland District Court for sentencing in May 2025 after admitting to inappropriate sexual behaviour with a student. Photo \/ Alex Burton<\/p>\n
An Auckland primary school teacher has pleaded guilty in North Shore District Court to grooming and committing an indecent act on an 11-year-old boy. Photo \/ Sylvie Whinray<\/p>\n