A Marlborough teacher who was jailed for having sex with two students aged under 16 has abandoned her bid to keep her name secret. Jamiee Marie Cooney admitted at the Blenheim District Court in October seven charges of sexual relations with minors and two charges of sending sexual material to minors. Published in Stuff

She was sentenced in December to two years and six months’ imprisonment, and Judge Tony Zohrab refused an application for final name suppression.

The woman’s lawyers Jonathan Eaton, QC, and Miriam Radich indicated at the time they intended to appeal that decision, with interim name suppression granted for the duration of the appeal period.

The hearing to decide on final name suppression was set down for Friday. But on Monday, Cooney said she had dropped the appeal.

The former teacher repeatedly took two young teenagers out of a Marlborough school at lunchtimes to have sex in her car in 2018, and sent them indecent images and videos through SnapChat and FaceTime.

She was employed at the school for about 12 years before her resignation last year.

While working at the school, she had formed sexual relationships with “a number of students”, who tended to be from more vulnerable families, and were usually involved in sport, a police summary of facts said.

However only two students were under the legal age of consent, which formed the basis for the charges laid.

She had already been automatically added to the sex offenders’ register.

Cooney’s husband is a constable in Blenheim. His posting to Marlborough was his first job as a police officer; previously he worked as a teacher at Hillmorton in Christchurch.

By Stuff
Published in Stuff
4 February 2020