• Howick and Pakuranga Times
A JURY is expected to reach its verdict today following the retrial of a man accused of abusing children at a residential school.
The former employee has been on trial for the second time for a string of physical and sexual offences against pupils who attended Waimokoia School in Bucklands Beach in the 1980s.
The school specialised in educating young people with social and behavioural issues.
The jury of eight men and four women have been considering their verdict since Monday afternoon and were yesterday given permission by the judge to resume their deliberations at Auckland High Court today.
Charges against the man, who has been granted name suppression, include four of indecent assault, two of attempted sodomy, three of assault with intent to injure, and another of injuring with intent a boy aged between nine and 10.
The man also faced six charges of sexual violation and five of indecent assault against a 12-year-old girl, and a rape charge in connection with another 12-year-old girl.
He entered not guilty pleas to all charges at the start of the four-week trial before Justice Graham Lang.
The retrial was ordered after the jury in the first trial, held in July last year, failed to agree on a verdict.
In summing up the case on Monday, Justice Lang said the jury’s task was to carefully consider all evidence laid out to them during the trial.
Credibility and reliability had been central to the lawyers’ respective cases, he said, adding a complicating factor was the alleged offences took place more than 20 years ago.
“Both sides say the evidence for the opposing side is not credible,” said Justice Lang.
He advised the jury to put aside any feelings of prejudice or sympathy they may have for the accused and his complainants, and avoid “speculation or guesswork”.
Justice Lang said the Crown argued the complainants had “nothing to gain and everything to lose” by making false allegations against the accused. Testimony from defence witnesses – including family, friends and colleagues of the accused – portrayed him as a man of “integrity, honesty and honour”.
“He has said these acts did not occur and there is no substance to any of them,” Justice Lang told the jury.
Another former pupil, who was 12 at the time, alleged she was raped by the accused in the school sick bay and another complainant was forced to perform sex acts in her bedroom.
Tara Jeory, a former senior Corrections psychologist, was called on by the prosecution to speak about her professional dealings with one of the alleged victims.
While she was working with him, the complainant wrote her letters containing details of abuse he claimed he received as a child. In subsequent conversations with Ms Jeory, he named the former Waimokoia staff member as the perpetrator of the abuse.
Defence lawyer Ron Mansfield said in his closing address that his client was facing “the most heinous and brutal allegations that any of our community could fear to face”.
Mr Mansfield said evidence from a number of witnesses, including former pupils, work colleagues and the parent of a former student, would help jurors reach a decision.
He added while details of an affair conducted between his client and a younger colleague at Waimokoia may have made him sound “grubby” to jurors, that did not make him a child molester.
“[My client] has never claimed to be a perfect man. He has made mistakes in life,” said Mr Mansfield. “He’s a husband, but he hasn’t always been a good husband. He’s a dad, and has always been a good dad.
“He’s not a paedophile and is not a sadistic abuser of children. That is against his nature.”
The defence lawyer said testimony from the accused’s three alleged victims was neither reliable nor credible.
“We struggle with the thought that people would make up allegations like this, but the sad reality is that people lie, day in and day out,” said Mr Mansfield.
“Those allegations of abuses did not occur at the school at the hand of [my client].”
He said one of the alleged victims was a “story spinner” who had made complaints “against all and sundry” during her life and described another complainant as an arsonist and “seasoned prisoner”, who was looking for a way to reduce his jail term.
Mr Mansfield said the third complainant was a practised liar and attention-seeker. “This woman is a false allegation waiting to happen.”
• Waimokoia was closed late last year. At the time, Dennis Finn, the commissioner put in by the Ministry of Education to run the school, said the decision to shut the school was not a reflection on the quality of its teachers, nor of the alleged abuse, which might have happened in the past.
• The verdict will be posted online at www.times.co.nz after the jury reaches its decision.
