Taurapa was allowed to continue working at Christ's College after allegations were raised about his conduct. Photo: Stuff / Alden Williams
An elite Christchurch school concedes it should have stood down one of its staff as soon as concerns surfaced about his inappropriate behaviour towards a teenage girl.
Instead, Taurapa, formerly Connor Taurapa Matthews, was able to continue in his role as a tutor at Christ's College in Christchurch for more than two and a half years, a decision that has been called "completely unacceptable" and "shameful".
"I think the school really dropped the ball. They should have done a lot more to protect other students," a staffer who helped expose the teacher's serious misconduct said.
On Monday, Stuff revealed Taurapa had been struck off the teaching register after the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found he had had a sexual relationship with a 16-year-old student, and groomed another teenager.
He was employed by two elite schools at the same time. From 2018 to April 2019 he was a te reo Māori teacher at Rangi Ruru Girls' School. During that period he was also live-in house tutor at Christ's College.
The severe abuse of his position as a teacher took place at both schools.
In February 2019, Christ's College was alerted to concerns about SnapChat messages Taurapa had been sending a girl, known as Ms Y, who worked part-time for a contractor at the school. The school did nothing about it.
Then, a month later, Taurapa's relationship with 16-year-old Rangi Ruru student Helena Dray - who has waived her right to anonymity - was exposed by two Christ's College staffers who had become suspicious of his behaviour. The pair reported their concerns to the school's associate principal the morning after one of them photographed Taurapa's car outside the girl's home late at night.
In April 2019, Taurapa quit his teaching job while under investigation by Rangi Ruru. However, there was a six-month delay in the matter being flagged with the Teaching Council because the principal of the girls' school mistakenly sent a mandatory report to the wrong email address.
In the interim, Taurapa was employed as a teacher at Hornby High School on a fixed term, part-time contract for about five months.
"I understand the referee's checks undertaken at the time did not indicate any concerns or alarm bells," the school's newly appointed principal Iain Murray said on Tuesday.
While Rangi Ruru acted swiftly, Christ's College allowed Taurapa to continue in his house tutor role - a decision one of the whistleblowers said defies belief and was part of the reason the person eventually quit the school.
"I think they acted inappropriately by leaving him on staff … knowing he was under investigation."
The staffer, whose name is suppressed, said allowing Taurapa to continue to work at the college created workplace issues.
As a solution, the college tried to get him, his colleague and Taurapa to sign contracts agreeing to avoid each other where possible, the staffer said.
It made him feel like he and his fellow complainant "were the bad guys".
At one point, when the staffer asked why Taurapa was still employed at the college, and what would happen if the media found out, the HR manager is said to have responded: "That's why we have good PR people."
Taurapa eventually left his role at Christ's College in December 2021. It is unclear why.
On Tuesday, Christ's College board chairperson Hugh Lindo said the school should have launched an investigation into Taurapa's behaviour as soon as it was made aware of Ms Y's complaint.
"He should have been suspended immediately and removed from the campus while an investigation was undertaken."
As a result of details and questions raised with the school by Stuff, the school on Tuesday appointed barrister Janna McGuigan to investigate "all aspects of Taurapa's employment at Christ's College".
"If the people who have contacted you wish to contact me directly, I can facilitate their involvement in the investigation," Lindo told Stuff.
Taurapa declined to comment on Tuesday.
This story was originally published by Stuff.