Auckland school teacher Edwin Downing was found guilty of grooming and sexually abusing teenagers. Photo / Michael CraigA South Auckland school teacher who groomed children using the dating app Grindr before sexually abusing them will spend six-and-a-half years behind bars. Edwin John Downing, 43, was today sentenced at the High Court in Auckland after being found guilty of 11 charges following a two-week trial last November. The charges included sexual conduct with a young person under 16, meeting a young person following sexual grooming and sexual violation by unlawful sexual connection. The High Court heard how the father-of-one approached two teenagers on Grindr and offered between $40 and $100 for sex in 2018.

Source: New Zealand Herald February 10, 2021 23:37 UTC