'I could go to jail': School staffer in court over sex with underage boys

Former school staffer Hannah Lealiiee, who groomed and had sex with underage boys, later told police she knew it was wrong but liked the attention.

“I could go to jail for this,” she told one victim.

Lealiiee, 45, appeared in the Auckland District Court for sentencing on Friday after earlier pleading guilty to two grooming charges and four representative charges of sexual conduct with a young person relating to four boys.

The victims were teens and pre-teens.

The court heard Lealiiee has held various roles at several schools but the name of the school her victims attended is permanently suppressed.

According to the summary of facts, Lealiiee met the first victim and they began texting, but he thought he was messaging someone else.

The boy eventually realised he was talking to Lealiiee and the exchanges continued.

“If we were together, what would we be doing?” she messaged him.

They began to hang out and at one stage Lealiiee kissed the boy. She messaged after saying she wasn’t sure if he wanted her to do that because of their age difference.

But they kissed again on another occasion and a couple of weeks later Lealiiee booked a hotel where they had sex multiple times.

Their relationship continued for months until the boy’s older brother persuaded him it was not right and he ended it.

The use of threats

Lealiiee also met the second boy through school. She got his number and began messaging him.

Once when they were together, they began to have intercourse but because the boy was twitching and moving away, they stopped.

They tried to have sex on another occasion but again stopped when the boy said he wasn’t enjoying it.

He later attempted to distance himself from Lealiiee and she threatened to tell the principal of his bad behaviour at school and get him suspended if he kept “being like this”.

The boy felt scared by this threat but, after a couple of months, cut off contact anyway.

‘I could go to jail’

Lealiiee met the third boy and began messaging him, again asking “what would happen if we were at home alone together?”

They began a sexual relationship, with Lealiiee once saying, “I could go to jail for this”.

The boy later realised what was happening was wrong and ended the relationship.

Lealiiee began spending time with the fourth boy and they had sex on two occasions before he told her he no longer wanted to and distanced himself.

When police spoke to her, Lealiiee admitted what she had done, saying she knew it was wrong but thought it was okay because she was friends with them.

She told police she liked the attention from the boys.

‘Planning and premeditation’

Lealiiee was supported in court this week by a small group of whānau and friends.

None of the victims were present.

Crown lawyer Ben Bosomworth referred to a report where the writer suggested one reason for Lealiiee’s behaviour was that she had a lack of adult sexual partners at the time.

Bosomworth said he would oppose any sentence discount for Lealiiee for this explanation because it was a reality for many adults, not a reason to offend.

He said there were “several” features of what Lealiiee had done to the first victim that made it worse, such as her “planning and premeditation”.

Lealiiee identified her target and groomed him for sex, going as far as booking a hotel to facilitate the conduct, Bosomworth said.

This went “far beyond” sporadic instances of sexual contact, he said.

He also highlighted the victim’s vulnerability, with a significant age gap and a breach of trust.

Lealiiee was in a position of authority, integrated into the boy’s school and seen as an adult in his life, Bosomworth said.

Bosomworth acknowledged Lealiiee had shown “genuine” remorse and some insight into what she had done.

Lealiiee’s lawyer Stu Kett argued his client’s sex with the boys was “sporadic” over an extended period.

He asked for sentence discounts for her guilty pleas, remorse, accountability and background.

He said that in prison, where Lealiiee was already remanded, she was using her time to work on herself and become a meaningful and contributing member of society again.

But there was “no argument” the end sentence was going to be one of imprisonment, Kett said.

Judge Nicola Mathers said she needed more time to go over the material before her and pushed the sentencing into next month.

Where to get help:
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334.
• Text 4334.
• Email support@safetotalk.nz.
• For more info or to web-chat, visit safetotalk.nz.
• Survivor Experiences Service: 0800 456 090 (8.30am-4.30pm Monday-Friday) or text 8328. This service is for people abused in state, faith-based or other forms of care.
Alternatively contact your local police station – click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Ella Scott-Fleming has been a journalist for three years and previously worked at the Otago Daily Times, Gore Ensign and Metro Magazine. She has an interest in court and general reporting. She’s currently based in Auckland covering justice-related stories.