A social worker who sat on a teen and punched a co-worker in the face is now working at an Auckland primary school. Uila Esera was charged with conduct unbecoming of a social worker and de-registered over the incidents, which took place while he was working at the Whakatakapokai Care and Protection Residence in 2013. The residence is a secure facility for young people, run by Oranga Tamariki – then called Child, Youth and Family – in south Auckland’s Manurewa. A decision by the Social Workers Complaints and Disciplinary Tribunal, released this week, said the incidents showed Esera had “a quickness to become angry and a concerning resort to aggression and violence when frustrated”. He appeared to “lack insight into the gravity of his conduct” and showed a “pattern of violent behaviour”, the decision said. Keren Williams, a residential youth worker at Whakatakapokai, stated the altercation between Esera and the 16-year-old girl began following an argument over ice cream, the decision said. When the teen yelled at Esera, he went in for a “one man restraint” without any warning, Williams said. She classed the interaction between Esera and the teen as “the most violent that I’ve witnessed”. CCTV footage from the incident showed Esera grabbing the girl first by her wrist, then around her neck and chest, the decision said. She fell to the floor, and he sat on top of her chest to hold her down. Esera did not dispute using physical force against the girl but said he acted in “self-defence” after the girl punched him out of nowhere, the decision said. After the incident, Esera was dismissed from his job at Whakatakapokai.
