Principal on leave over hiring of rapist as aide

The principal of an Auckland school – where a rapist relative was hired as a teacher aide – is on leave, pending investigation. Last month it was revealed the school had hired a teenager closely related to the principal. The man, hired as a classroom assistant, had raped a young woman and sexually violated another, and was employed despite the school knowing of his past. He later resigned. Now the principal is on leave and an acting principal has been appointed. In a letter to parents yesterday, the board of trustees said the school had employed a lawyer as an ‘‘independent investigator’’. With the help of the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand School Trustees Association, the school was working on the scope of the investigation. The inquiry will take place next term and is expected to take four weeks. The board said the principal would remain ‘‘on leave’’ for the duration. The board’s chairperson has previously said another senior staff member, not the principal, was involved in the hiring of the teacher aide. Stuff understands the school did vet the teenager with police – and hired him anyway. At a school meeting two weeks ago, parents expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation to members of the board. Last Friday, the school announced it would be calling in the ministry’s trauma team to support staff and students.