The North Harbour Hockey Association has fired a woman who blew the whistle after the organisation would not help two teenage girls report a staff member’s alleged sexual abuse to police.
The woman’s daughter is one of the teens allegedly indecently assaulted by a former association employee, who has been charged with abusing two girls, one of whom was under 16.
He has since resigned.
The organisation claims the woman’s dismissal related to alleged misuse of confidential information, “including how that information was disclosed to the media”.
Hayley*, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said she made a whistleblower complaint to the board chairman verbally last year and in writing earlier this year after learning how the situation was handled and the association’s decision not to report the alleged sex offender to police.
“No one should have to go through [the police reporting process] on their own, let alone an under-18.
“I was in shock and disbelief”.
Hayley wrote in her complaint to board chairman Dave Kosoof in February: “I ask you, if this was your daughter or son or grandchild, how would you have wanted Harbour to react? Would you have been satisfied with him resigning?”
“I knew that if I came forward, I was putting a big target on my back and that life at work would get very uncomfortable very quickly. This is a decision I would make over and over to show my daughter and the other kids involved in this incident that someone is standing up for them and showing that how we handled this situation was not right,” she said in the complaint.
The association (NHHA) did not support the complainants in going to the authorities, with CEO Michelle Bentham saying in an email: “You need to do this individually or together but we (NHHA) can’t get involved in the process”, citing the potential need for NHHA to provide information to police.
The two teens independently filed complaints with police last year, and the man was arrested and charged in relation to alleged abuse against both girls.
NHHA CEO's email to one of the complainants. Photo / Supplied
Separately, earlier this year the Herald was alerted by an unrelated hockey community source to allegations of inappropriate relationships between a now ex-NHHA coach and hockey players.
The former Olympian resigned after a Hockey New Zealand probe into his alleged conduct.
There is no suggestion the two ex-staffers’ alleged conduct is linked.
The Herald learned about the alleged sex abuse involving Hayley’s daughter while making separate, unrelated inquiries about the coach.
The Herald obtained a copy of Hayley’s complaint and published her comments from it with permission. However, she was not one of the confidential sources quoted in any of the Herald’s reporting about NHHA.
‘Tried to protect my child’
After the Herald published a series of stories, Hayley’s work laptop and phone were confiscated by NHHA leaders without notice and she was removed from the site on June 19.
“It was scary. It was really humiliating having that happen in front of my colleagues.
“I’ve only been a mum who’s tried to protect my child.”
Kosoof said NHHA did not comment on whistleblower complaints as they were confidential, but said all complaints were managed appropriately.
He said NHHA considered it necessary to investigate Hayley’s alleged “unauthorised sharing and misuse of confidential and sensitive information, including how that information was disclosed to the media”.
Kosoof said this led to a workplace investigation into alleged breaches of employment obligations but was “unrelated” to any previous concerns she raised. He would not elaborate.
NHHA engaged a law firm for the employment investigation, and the allegations against Hayley were upheld.
Her contract was terminated late last month.
National Hockey Centre at North Harbour.
“This process has taken significant time and money away from what should be North Harbour Hockey’s focus, investing in the future of our sport,” he said.
In a separate statement released on NHHA’s Facebook page on Friday, Kosoof said the media coverage had caused “significant reputational damage” to NHHA and its management.
He claimed in the post that Hayley’s alleged breaches included “collusion” with the media by her and her family.
NHHA had previously told the Herald the man accused of abusing Hayley’s daughter stopped working at the organisation in July 2025 “following an investigation conducted immediately after we received complaints from other staff members”.
Hayley said the outcome of this investigation was not shared with her or her daughter, only that he had resigned.
The Herald can also reveal that after her verbal whistleblower complaint, a private investigator was commissioned in November 2025.
“I have been asked to undertake an independent and transparent examination of the concerns raised by you, regarding an incident within the NHHA,” an email from the investigator to Hayley said.
“I aim to establish the facts and events of the incident and establish if there were potential breaches of policy, ethical standards, or legal requirements before, during, and after the incident.”
Hayley said she met and engaged with the investigator but no formal findings were ever shared with her.
NHHA declined to answer questions yesterday regarding the nature and outcome of the independent November investigation and whether it maintained the matter was also investigated in July 2025.
The private investigator was also approached for comment.
‘Hard to recover’
Hayley said she was not a disgruntled employee. NHHA had been her life for many years and she would often spend seven days a week on site.
“My love for Harbour came because I’m so passionate about what I’m doing, what we were doing, and when you develop a love for something and a passion for something that deeply, and it lets you down this badly, it is so hard to recover from that.”
She felt she “100% had no other option” but to blow the whistle, as she firmly believed the young people involved in the alleged sexual abuse had been let down and changes needed to be made to ensure it did not happen again.
Hayley added that other concerning incidents had been handled differently by NHHA in the past. She felt her daughter and the other girls’ alleged assault on site was not met with the same level of response.
“When we had someone come on to the property during an under-16 tournament and say something inappropriate to two of our Harbour girls, we got the police in. They taught us how to trespass, we got spoken to.”
She pointed to another situation where a player had a heart attack on the field and a review was undertaken and changes made to ensure the pitch was more accessible to ambulances.
Facebook posts provided to the Herald show CPR training was subsequently offered to all coaches, managers, officials and club administrators.
“Why are you not doing the same measures [in this case]? I’m not saying you can stop bad things from happening because you cannot ... But if bad things happen, my question is, were there things that we could have noticed?”
Hayley said if issues of alleged sexual misconduct arose again, she wanted young people to feel they could speak to management and that action would be taken.
Instead, following her complaint, Hayley felt she was investigated more by the association than the man now charged with sexually abusing her child.
“I’m trying to prevent children from going through something like this again.”
Her legal representative, Gregory Bennett, wrote in response to Hayley’s termination decision: “The conclusions reached lack an adequate evidential foundation and instead appear to reflect an assumption that our client should be held accountable for raising concerns regarding alleged child abuse at NHHA.”
Since raising the alarm, Hayley said she had felt like giving up many times.
“It’s been so hard, you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle.”
She also worried for her teenage daughter, who Hayley said was now “petrified” about returning to the workforce.
But Hayley said she would not give up and had raised a personal grievance for unjustified dismissal.
“I’m happy to be investigated because I know that the truth will come out in the end.”
*Hayley’s name has been changed for legal reasons
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
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.
Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues such as sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
