Teacher slept with student in classroom, guilty of serious misconduct

A North Island teacher who slept with a student in his classroom and family home has been found guilty of serious misconduct.

At a 2022 hearing, the Teacher’s Disciplinary Tribunal heard about a teacher-student relationship which unfolded over 2013 and 2014.

The hearing discussed the relationship between Jerry Jordan and a student (whose name is suppressed), which is said to have had a “deep and lasting effect” on the victim.

While Jordan has denied all allegations, the tribunal found that, based on the evidence heard, the inappropriate relationship happened.

For most of her time at high school, the student shared a “normal” relationship with Jordan, occasionally hugging her and touching her leg - which he did with other female students.

This changed when the student reached Year 12 and was in Jordan’s history class.

One day he placed his hand “very high up” on her leg.

He would later go on to put his arm around her and make comments like: “You're hot”.

The next year, the student was once again in Jordan’s class, which is when the teacher, who is married with children, made a bizarre declaration.

“I’m not sure how it started, but we were in the library one day, and he was acting odd, but I can’t remember what made me turn around and think that,” she said.

“I stayed after class and was like ‘what’s going on, ‘cos you’re acting weird.’

“And he was like “oh, I’ve never felt this way about anyone before”, which is a bit of an odd thing for a guy with a wife and kids to say, and I don’t know, I guess I kind of opened the door there and it just never stopped.”

In an incident after class one day, the two kissed - which kicked off an evolving sexual relationship.

During the summer break, the student was left distressed after sleeping with Jordan at his home. She had visited to have a biology report checked.

“I was just upset ‘cos he was just being cold… He was just being cold.

“You’d expect a little bit better than being sent home after the first time you’ve had sex with someone who claimed to love you,” she said.

The two had sex a number of times over the summer holidays, at Jordan’s home and in his classroom. On one occasion, they exchanged nude photos.

The pair were never caught engaging inappropriately at school but did have staff walk in while they were together. One afternoon, the student had to move from Jordan’s lap when a custodian walked into the room.

The custodian didn’t make anything of the incident at the time, but “he was left wondering if something had happened given the expressions on their faces at the time.”

“I thought to myself ‘Gee has something happened? Are they surprised I walked through?” the custodian said.

Because Jordan was married, the student felt guilty about the relationship and unsuccessfully tried to end it multiple times.

In 2014, when the student went to university, Jordan would travel to see her, and they slept together twice in hotel rooms.

After the second time, the student burst into tears, prompting Jordan to suggest they end the relationship, and she agreed with him.

“The second time he ended up, because I burst into tears after sex, and he was like ‘I think it’s time to cut the umbilical cord.’”

“After that, he would call or message me being like “oh, don’t make me regret this”, you know, regret [breaking up] with me or whatever.”

They remained friends on Facebook, which was when the student noticed a familiar pattern when Jordan would comment on other young girls’ social media.

“The reason I reported it was because I felt there was a risk to other students.”

She said a student “had just posted on her Facebook page saying that she was going to uni and how excited she was.”

“He’d just commented saying ‘I’m excited for you, and if you need any support, just let me know, I’m always here for you’, and I was kind of like, that sounds exactly like what he would’ve said to me.”

She reported Jordan to the police, who referred the case to the Ministry of Education. The school filed a mandatory report with the tribunal.

Jordan has vehemently denied all allegations against him - pushing back on the specifics of the student's account.

The student said his “bitten fingernails” had hurt during sex.

“My hands are available to be checked,” he said.

Jordan also claimed to have a “dispensation to leave right after class”, saying he couldn’t have been present when the conduct happened. This contradicted the college's testimony, which said he was frequently seen on campus after school.

He also claims the ongoing case has caused him to lose his passion for teaching.

Jordan believes the allegations were made because he stopped a drug deal the student was making.

In their decision, the tribunal said Jordan had shown ‘no insight or remorse”.

He was ordered to pay 50% of their proceeding’s legal costs.