The former manager of a Whangarei Child Youth and Family foster home says she can't understand how the man who replaced her got the job and went on to abuse six children in his care.
In the High Court at Whangarei on Thursday, Taite Kupa, 57, was found guilty of 21 charges of sexual and physical abuse, including rape.
Nellie Kemp, who ran the home until 2011 before Kupa came in, says she and her husband went through six months of interviews and testing before they got the job.
She said several couples were in the running to take over when she resigned but Kupa and his wife were appointed very suddenly.
Mrs Kemp said Child Youth and Family should be held accountable for what happened.
"I know, as a caregiver, that if something went wrong in my care I would be held accountable, so whoever's supervising or overseeing that process such as a family home, they need to be held accountable. We're talking of two years of abuse," she said.
Ms Kemp said she did not like Kupa when she met him and his behaviour was odd.
