Thursday, February 21, 2008

New Zealand Teacher, 35, denies sex with pupil


By Peter Hardwick

A TOOWOOMBA school teacher 2accused1 of having a sexual relationship with one of her teenage students denied the charges yesterday.

The 35-year-old woman responded with a clear "not guilty" from the Toowoomba District Court dock after each of five counts of indecent treatment of a child under 16 was read out to her.

To protect the identity of the complainant, the woman's name and school where they met will not be made public.

Opening the case against the 2woman1, Crown prosecutor Paul Bannister told the court the allegations involved five separate instances of oral sex performed on the then 15-year-old boy from May, 2003.

Each of the instances are alleged to have occurred at the home of the woman and her husband and started weeks after the complainant boy's 15th birthday.

Mr Bannister said each of the incidents occurred about two weeks after the previous one at times when the complainant and others were visiting the woman and her husband or visiting another teenage boy who had been staying at the couple's home at the relevant time.

On the first occasion, the woman and complainant boy had been sitting on a two-seat lounge watching a movie with another teenager with the woman's husband also in the room.

Mr Bannister said the woman and complainant had pillows on their laps and it would be alleged the woman had touched the boy sexually.

A short time later, she had taken him to an ensuite where she allegedly performed the act on him.

Subsequent incidents had taken place in the couple's computer room and spare room, the court heard.

During one alleged incident, the woman had offered to give the teenager a massage and had taken him into the home's spare room.

She had then performed the sexual act on him during which time another teenager who had accompanied the complainant to the house that evening went looking for him, Mr Bannister said.

When that teenager went to open the door to the room, the door was x slammed in his face by the accused, he said.

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