David Russell Bond (70) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday where he admitted indecent acts and indecently assaulting eight pupils, crimes which spanned 2001-11 at Otago Boys’ High School.
Court documents revealed the variety of settings in which Bond preyed on children through classes he taught, sports he coached and a year 10 camp in Wanaka.
The ex-maths teacher, who now lives in Cromwell, has served two terms of home detention in the past eight years for historic sex offences that have emerged since his classroom tenure ended.
The sheer scale of the new case against him, though, meant he was remanded in custody by consent yesterday.
Former school rector (2000-14) Clive Rennie told the Otago Daily Times yesterday he had heard rumours about Bond’s conduct at the time but had nothing concrete to back that up.
"I was aware of his reputation but I can quite freely say, if there were students who had complaints, they didn’t come to me," he said.
Mr Rennie said he tried to minimise the time Bond spent alone with pupils but could not stop it altogether.
"You can never guard against everything because he was a very active teacher.
"He coached cricket and rugby," he said.
Much of Bond’s lewd behaviour took place in the classroom where he would approach pupils from behind "on the pretext of checking [their] work" and force his groin against them, court documents stated.
While the majority of the incidents happened in the presence of others, there were times when Bond isolated teens.
The summary outlined how he followed a 16-year-old into the school gym, where he congratulated him on winning a sporting event.
"While speaking to him he pushed his hand forward into the boy’s groin, intentionally pressing his hand into the front of the boy’s Spandex shorts," it said.
Bond was witnessed by cricketers rubbing himself through his shorts and he also indecently assaulted one 13-year-old player who was preparing to bat.
The teacher asked him if he was wearing a box.
"Before the victim could say anything, the defendant immediately reached down, put his hands on the victim’s penis and testicles and grabbed hold of them," the summary said.
Court documents confirmed the lewd conduct was seen by other staff.
In 2010, Bond went into a computer room being supervised by two other teachers and approached a pupil from the rear.
The defendant put his chin on the boy’s shoulder then pressed his body against him, only leaving when one of the staff members shouted at him.
The extent of the sex crimes was a surprise, Mr Rennie said, particularly given Bond’s academic efforts.
"In terms of being a professional teacher, you wouldn’t have got better than Dave," he said.
"As a teacher in the classroom ... . he was right up there. He was an excellent teacher."
Mr Rennie said he handed over all his paperwork to police when he left the role of rector and had never heard back from them.
While he had documented a complaint about the teacher’s behaviour at a previous school, he believed there was nothing adverse on record from his time at OBHS.
In a statement posted on the school's website yesterday, current rector Richard Hall "unreservedly" apologised to all old boys affected and said support would continue to be offered.
"We are saddened that this is a part of our school history, and it is important that we acknowledge and learn from it. We won't forget it and there is no attempt to distance ourselves from it," he said.
Mr Hall said the school now had processes in place he hoped would continue to make the reporting of concerns easier for pupils.
Bond will be sentenced in June.
Disgraced
May 2014: David Bond sentenced to four months’ home detention and 100 hours’ community work for molestation of pupil on school trip in 1975.
Dec 2020: Bond gets four months’ home detention again for repeatedly groping boy while watching basketball in the late 1990s.
Jan-Apr 2021: New sex charges laid relating to eight boys.
Mar 2022: Bond pleads guilty to 20 charges.
Jun 2022: Sentencing will take place at the Dunedin District Court.
