Gloriavale principal knew of sexual offending but allowed teacher to continue working

Thursday, 26 May 2022

The principal at the Gloriavale Christian School has been suspended for serious misconduct.

A decision by the New Zealand Teachers’ Disciplinary Tribunal says Faithful Pilgrim was a teacher at the school for 45 years and was principal from 1995 to 2020.

It found that on two occasions in 2012 and 2016, he endorsed a teacher as being of “good character and fit to be a teacher” on an application form to renew his practising certificate, when Pilgrim knew he had sexually abused a 9-year-old student.

The New Zealand Teaching Council began investigating Pilgrim after receiving a complaint from the Gloriavale Leavers Support Trust that he failed to keep pupils safe by covering up Just Standfast’s offending.

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Just Standfast, pictured in 2019, was sentenced to six months of community detention and two years of intensive supervision.

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Standfast admitted to a charge of sexual conduct with a child in March 2019 and was later sentenced to six months of community detention and two years of intensive supervision.

The offending against multiple children happened at the Gloriavale community at Haupiri, pictured.

The tribunal’s decision says Pilgrim is censured and his practising certificate is suspended for three months. When he resumes practising as a teacher he must abide by conditions including working under an independent mentor for 18 months and not working as a principal for three years.

The decision says Standfast sexually assaulted the girl in 2012. She told her mother immediately, who told Pilgrim.

Instead of alerting authorities, Pilgrim sent Standfast to work in the boys’ high school classrooms and endorsed his practising certificate application that same year stating Standfast was of “good character and fit to be a teacher”.

Standfast’s offending was reported to police by the girl’s father in 2018.

Pilgrim, 66, told the tribunal he knew of the allegation made about Standfast in 2012 and also that he had heard a rumour about inappropriate conduct by Standfast to a different young person about 25 years earlier.

He said endorsing Standfast’s certificate application was “foolish” and he would report any future offending at the school to police and Oranga Tamariki. He had since undertaken child protection training.

Pilgrim sought permanent suppression for him and the school, with supporting affidavit from his son Abraham Pilgrim, who is the current principal of the school. However, the tribunal found the public interest was high and declined suppression.

Standfast, whose offending came to light when he was publicly named by the courts in 2019, avoided jail after indecently touching and kissing his “favourite” pupil.

In 2012, he indecently assaulted the 9-year-old girl, repeatedly kissed her and exposed himself on a bed during a playtime break.

He admitted a charge of sexual conduct with a child and was sentenced to six months of community detention and two years of intensive supervision.