A teacher has been banned from the classroom after having a sexual relationship with a Year 13 pupil, only discovered when the girl's mother checked her phone bill. The committee heard the teacher, who previously taught at a secondary school in the lower North Island, was in a sexual relationship with the pupil, sent hundreds of text messages to her and counselled her without expert qualification. In August 2015 the girl's mother discovered phone charges for 472 text messages and four phone calls between the pair on a bill. The teacher admitted to the committee the affair had taken place, that it was serious misconduct and appropriate his registration was cancelled. Calling the behaviour of the teacher reprehensible, the committee said he took advantage of a vulnerable pupil ultimately causing harm.

Source: Otago Daily Times April 20, 2017 00:33 UTC