A Hastings teacher used his school-issued work computer to search for pornography and erotic stories involving “teacher/student relationships” and content containing themes of “coercion and non-consent”.
John Mallory, a former maths teacher at Karamū High School, was censured by the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal in November last year after it was discovered he was using his work-issued laptop to access pornography in 2021.
His behaviour was exposed when Mallory asked an IT department member to help him set up two-factor authentication on his laptop.
When he unlocked the device, the IT worker “immediately” saw a pornographic video on his screen “with naked bodies which looked like adults engaging in sexual intercourse”.
He immediately closed the video and didn’t say anything.
After the incident, the IT department investigated, looking at the search history on a laptop Mallory had previously used – and his current one, which had been uplifted.
They found that he had viewed “numerous” websites across 2021, including erotic fiction websites and pornographic video sites. The content was streamed on the internet and not downloaded.
Alongside the websites, the investigators were also able to see the terms he was searching to find the material.
The IT workers said: “Approximately 100 of the search terms identified were considered to be of significant concern.”
They included content about teacher/student relationships, non-consensual sex, and teenagers.
In his submission to tribunal investigators, Mallory said his intention was “only to access material where the participants or characters were over 18 years old”.
“A detailed forensic investigation does not suggest otherwise,” the report, released recently, reads.
The investigators found Mallory did not view the content during school hours or on school grounds.
It wasn’t the first time IT had been curious about Mallory’s searches.
In 2020, they obtained his old laptop, and when moving his backup data to the cloud, a bookmark linking to a pornographic site was found; however, no action was taken as it could have been an “innocent error”.
“And there was no other evidence to suggest there was anything inappropriate.”
He had also made requests, wanting to know how to clear his search history and cache data.
In 2019 and 2021 Mallory had signed an "annual agreement" which included a declaration they observed school expectations for the use of ICT equipment, software and files.
Responding to the tribunal, Mallory admitted to the behaviour and showed remorse, acknowledging “the impact his actions would have had on the staff who had to manage the situation”.
He has since stopped teaching and didn’t reapply for his practising certificate.
The tribunal said that while the content wasn’t illegal in New Zealand, viewing it on a school computer brings the profession into disrepute.
“Parents and the community at large do not expect school property to be used for accessing pornography,” the tribunal said.
He was found to have engaged in “serious misconduct”.
Because of his behaviour, Mallory was censured and ordered to “notify any future employer of the Tribunal’s decision”.
He was also ordered to pay $3777 in legal costs.
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