Sexual abuser appeals sentence

An “obsessed and lovesick” Dunedin science teacher who repeatedly sexually abused a teenage boy is appealing his sentence.

Amadeo Enriquez Ballestero, 45, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison when he appeared in Christchurch District Court in July, but yesterday the Ministry of Justice confirmed legal proceedings have been initiated.

According to the ministry, the hearing is scheduled for next month.

Enriquez Ballestero, who made his name as a charismatic science teacher at the Tuhura Otago Museum, was exposed at the sentencing after his name was no longer allowed to be withheld, sending shockwaves through the local education community.

The court heard that Enriquez Ballestero, who was living in Christchurch at the time, met the victim at a school advocacy group, gained the trust of the boy’s mother and regularly visited their home.

The victim said the ordeal left him feeling “so down and depressed.”

“I’ve scrubbed my skin to the point of bleeding several times.”

Between January 2021 and September 2023, Enriquez Ballestero took the victim – often with others – on multi-day trips around the South Island, staying in rented accommodation.

During several trips to the Catlins, Enriquez Ballestero, dressed in “baggy underwear,” slept in the same bed as the boy and placed the spoon against him.

The crimes also took place at the victim’s home in Dunedin.

Enriquez Ballestero crawled into bed with the boy early in the morning, hugged him and kissed him “many times” on his arms, wrists, head and feet.

At one point, he sucked the boy’s fingers before performing a more invasive sex act.

When police questioned Enriquez Ballestero last November, he admitted to physical contact and explained that he was in love with the boy.

When forensic investigators analyzed Enriquez Ballestero’s electronic devices, they discovered that he had recorded himself abusing the boy, as well as 195 other child abuse files.

At the time of the conviction, Enriquez Ballestero’s teaching registration had expired and he had “voluntarily decided not to teach anymore”, according to the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand database.

The website now states that his registration has been ‘cancelled’.

Enriquez Ballestero will be eligible for parole in May next year.

— Rob Kidd, Court Reporter