Former students of Timothy Fisher, a convicted child sex offender and former drama teacher at Stratford High School, have accused him of using a “two-way classroom mirror” to film sexual abuse material involving students between 2012 and 2014.
Now in their late 20s, these ex-pupils told legacy media (paywalled) Fisher exhibited sexualised behaviour, including inappropriate touching, tying a student’s hands, and discussing explicit topics like auto-erotic asphyxia and his own sexual experiences.
Despite complaints to the school at the time, the students allege their concerns were dismissed, with one told she was fabricating claims due to poor grades.
The school denies the existence of a two-way mirror, asserting it was regular glass, but police confirmed a video of Fisher masturbating while watching students was filmed at Stratford High, with other abuse material linked to unidentified schools.
The case has sparked outrage due to systemic failures, particularly by the Teaching Council, which was warned by police in 2014 that Fisher should not be alone with children but failed to inform Stratford High or act promptly.
The council delayed seeking further information for 10 months and issued Fisher a new teaching certificate in 2016, allowing him to continue working in schools and later at a tutoring company, where he abused nine girls.
Education Minister Erica Stanford has demanded a review of vetting practices, while former students express horror at the possibility of being in Fisher’s videos and frustration at the lack of accountability. The Teaching Council defends its actions, citing confidentiality and legal constraints, but the revelations have prompted calls for stronger safeguards to protect students.
This is pure negligence; they should be arrested.
All this demonstrates, again, is the abject failure of government and its systems, in this country. Abuse is schools and colleges goes back decades if not centuries in NZ. The education system here is based on the horribly flawed UK model, that has been a haven for abuse of children.
We need new politicians, new reformist parties, true accountability, transparency and an end to public servants, behaving like a form of latter day nobility.
We need new thinking people to vote for new reformist parties, true accountability, transparency and an end to self-perpetuating bureaucracy. We need DOGE.