Student who complained about Waikato teacher’s touching asked ‘were you lying?’

Tuesday, 21 July 2026

A Waikato teacher has appeared before a New Zealand Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal over allegations he engaged in serious misconduct - including claims of touching and inappropriate social media messaging.

The Waikato Times is unable to name the teacher, or the two Waikato schools he taught at, due to legal suppressions.

However, the Times can report details of the allegations after the Complaints Assessment Committee charged that the teacher “engaged in serious misconduct and/or misconduct otherwise entitling the Tribunal to exercise its powers”.

The allegations date back to 2022 and 2023 and allege the teacher “breached professional boundaries” via social media posts to a student referred to in the notice of charge as Learner A.

He is alleged to have sent her love heart emojis, messaged her late at night and sent messages “unrelated to Learner A’s schooling”.

He is also alleged to have breached professional boundaries “by touching her, including hugging Learner A on multiple occasions”.

He is also alleged to have rubbed her back, touched her bottom and held her “by the hips”.

Further allegations, relating to a Learner B, claim he messaged her via social media “asking to meet with her outside of school for a hot chocolate” and also sending love heart emojis.

It is also alleged he breached professional boundaries with a third student, Learner C, who he gave the nickname “pretty girl”.

On the first day of the hearing at the Novotel Tainui in Hamilton, the Disciplinary Panel heard from Learner A in her own words via an audiovisual link.

The student, now 15 years old, read a prepared statement where she said she initially thought the teacher was “really nice”.

“But he got a bit too nice. He would hug me every time he saw me,” she said.

“I sometimes felt [he] treated me differently to other students… I felt [he] gave me an easier time.”

She said on one occasion “he rubbed my back and slowly started to rub my lower back close to my bottom… this made me feel sick and weirded out”.

“I knew what happened wasn’t right so tried to keep my distance from him.”

The teacher’s lawyer, Phillip Cornegé, said his client completely rejected allegations of inappropriate touching.

The hearing took a more combative turn when he questioned Learner A, confirming she claimed to have been inappropriately hugged four times.

“You are just making that up. That’s right isn’t it?” he said.

“I don’t really want to talk to you, if I’m being completely honest,” said Learner A.

The panel chair, Ian Murray, then told her “sorry, that’s just part of the process”.

Cornegé said she had claimed to have only been inappropriately touched once when she raised the matter with a deputy principal, and he asked her bluntly: “Were you lying to him or are you lying today?”

“That’s the first time you’ve said four incidents isn’t it,” he said.

“This was five years ago, and I have a really bad memory,” Learner A said.

He also told her no-one else had witnessed any of the alleged hugs.

“None of these incidents happened did they? You made them all up.”

He also questioned social media posts that appeared to show Learner A responding to the teacher’s messages with love heart emojis.

“You did that because he never touched you in the way you alleged,” Cornegé said.

“None of this suggests you are uncomfortable with [teacher’s name] does it?”

The panel also heard from Learner A’s step-father, who told the court he witnessed self harm and other behavioural changes in his step-daughter.

He also hit back when Cornegé told him “she obviously liked him”.

“That’s the way they do it, groom kids to suck them in.”

The hearing is set to continue.