An Auckland teacher who filmed herself urinating in classrooms, on a student’s property and masturbating for a pornographic website has had her teaching registration cancelled after a disciplinary ruling found she committed serious misconduct over several years.
According to a report by Catrin Owen of Stuff, the Teachers Disciplinary Tribunal found that Lisa Marie Edmondson used her position as a teacher to create explicit content for personal gain. The ruling, recently released, details incidents that took place while she was working at an Auckland school, which has been granted permanent name suppression.
In a statement to Stuff, Edmondson, who now works as a Women’s Health Specialist, said she “had no choice but to accept the ruling”.
“During a two-year period, which covers this time, I was suffering from extreme anxiety. I can’t explain why I did it other than self-sabotage and treating myself badly for things that had happened. By the time it was reported, I really did not even remember and hadn’t done anything else,” as quoted by Stuff.
Edmondson said she deeply regretted her behaviour and had lost both a job she loved and the respect of colleagues.
“I carried out actions that [are] beyond my beliefs and values. I have let down so many people. With the loss of income, I can’t provide for my kids like I was able to. My whole life and my kids’ lives changed because of actions I did,” she said, Stuff has quoted.
“I can’t change what I have done, but can make sure it never happens again... I would also point out that this has made me get the psychological support I have needed.”
According to the ruling, the deputy principal at Edmondson’s first school was alerted to the videos in May 2023 after a member of the public recognised a classroom in a TikTok clip where people were seen laughing at the footage.
Further searches of a pornographic platform uncovered an account belonging to Edmondson containing more than 30 explicit videos. One video showed a person urinating on the floor of a classroom, while another showed urination on a hat from a lost property box with a student’s name clearly visible.
The deputy principal recognised Edmondson’s voice and clothing in the recordings. The tribunal also heard that during Edmondson’s time at the school, staff had noticed an unexplained urine smell in several classrooms, as reported by Stuff.
Initially, the smell, which appeared after a classroom block reopened following refurbishment, was believed to be caused by rodents. However, bait stations set up during school holidays did not trap any rats or mice. Cleaners carried out a deep clean during the Christmas break, which removed the smell, but it returned in Term 1 the following year after Edmondson resumed teaching full-time.
The tribunal said Edmondson largely did not participate in the investigation, except to respond to a draft report in September 2023. She maintained she “did not repeatedly make pornographic content in the classroom and did not urinate in one of the classrooms as alleged or on the school lost property box”, and claimed one of the videos had been staged to appear as if it was filmed at the school.
However, the tribunal determined her actions were serious misconduct. It said students were likely affected by the ongoing smell in classrooms that eventually required deep cleaning. It also found that using property with a student’s name on it was a “deliberate and disrespectful act”.
“Even if that student is unaware, the use of the school and identifiable student property to create pornography has the potential to cause distress or other negative feelings in students, staff, and the school community,” Stuff has quoted.
The tribunal said Edmondson’s conduct was “fundamentally incompatible” with professional teaching standards and described her use of school premises for explicit content as “socially and culturally offensive”.
According to Stuff, Edmondson resigned from her first school in May 2023 after being informed of the investigation. Shortly afterwards, she applied for a fixed-term role at another school but failed to disclose the ongoing Teaching Council investigation and misrepresented her recent employment history.
The ruling noted Edmondson acknowledged she was not the role model she should have been and accepted that her teaching career had effectively ended.
Her lawyer argued that mental health issues had contributed to the misconduct, but the tribunal said there was insufficient evidence to establish a direct link between her condition and her behaviour.
Edmondson also applied for permanent name suppression, arguing that publication could worsen her mental health. Elena Mok, representing the Complaints Assessment Committee, opposed the request, stating Edmondson had shown little real insight into her actions and noting her intention to work in the health sector created “rise to a heightened interest in her name being published,” as quoted by Stuff.
While the tribunal acknowledged the potential embarrassment and distress publication could cause, it ruled there was legitimate public interest in transparency, protection of the public and the right to know the nature of the charges, as reported by Stuff.
Edmondson’s registration was cancelled, and she was formally censured. She was also ordered to pay $3255.87 towards the Complaints Assessment Committee’s costs and $582 to the Teaching Council.
Permanent suppression orders were granted for the names of the schools involved, as well as the identities of staff members, students, and the specific online platforms and usernames connected to the videos, to protect those affected and the reputation of the institutions.