4 days ago
National Youth Theatre says rape and grooming charges against Cole Johnston don't relate to time working there
The alleged offending occurred in Auckland between January 2017 and January 2021. (File photo)
Photo:
RNZ / Dan Cook
The National Youth Theatre (NYT) says rape and grooming charges against one of its former staff members do not relate to time he was employed at the theatre.
Auckland entertainer, Cole Thomas Johnston, was facing three charges of committing an indecent act on a girl aged 12 to 15, and eight sexual violation charges, according to the New Zealand Herald.
The Herald reported the alleged offending included multiple counts of male rapes female, unlawful sexual connection, doing an indecent act and meeting after sexual grooming.
Court documents said the alleged offending occurred in Auckland between January 2017 and January 2021.
All charges related to a single alleged victim.
Johnston denied the allegations last week, according to the Herald.
Johnston can now be named after an application for name suppression was declined, and his lawyer Sumudu Thode, confirmed to RNZ an appeal had not been filed before the deadline on Tuesday.
The 28-year-old described himself on his personal website as "a star performer in the National Youth Theatre Company in Auckland", taking lead roles in multiple productions, and was also a programme director for the NYT production "Oliver!".
A social media post by NYT indicated Johnston was working as a tutor there in July 2021.
A statement from NYT said "we want to be clear these charges do not relate to his time employed by our organisation. As this matter is now before the courts, we will not be able to make any further comment".
It said Johnston is not currently involved with the theatre.
NYT said the safety and well-being of students and staff is its "highest priority", and that it has "robust protection policies" to ensure that NYT is a safe and supportive environment for everyone in its community.
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