Teacher touch claim
Schoolboys asked to drop pants, court told
A FORMER Rotary Club president allegedly asked students to expose themselves to him while a teacher at the Colac Technical School, the Geelong Magistrates’ Court has heard.
John Nisbet, 77, allegedly asked two boys under the age of 16 to drop their pants during a counselling session 30 years ago.
In a police interview played to the court yesterday, Mr Nis- bet said the counselling sessions started after he saw the boys exposing themselves to each other in class.
The court heard the victims, now adults, allege they had to prove to him they were not gay — a claim he denied.
Mr Nisbet, of Warrnambool, was charged with gross indecency.
He told police he had a duty of care to sexually educate the boys following the incident.
“I had a duty of care (as a teacher) and had to do something,” he said.
One of the alleged victims claimed he was fondled by Mr Nisbet during the counselling session.
In his police interview, the accused said: “I never touched the boys — never in any sense or form.”
He told police he did not report the incident to the school’s hierarchy because it would embarrass the boys and create “a hell of a stink”.
The court heard Mr Nisbet, who was the boys’ squash coach, showered with them multiple times after training.
In closing arguments, defence lawyer Geoffrey Steward said there were inconsistencies in the victims’ statements, including when Mr Nisbet touched one boy.
Mr Steward said one of the boys first raised an alleged threat made by Mr Nisbet to exposing the entire saga during the court process, despite multiple prior interviews with police.
He said one of the alleged victims had also been unsure at how long he spent alone in a room with the teacher.
Yesterday Mr Nisbet had his bail extended until his October court date where Magistrate Ann McGarvie is expected to deliver a verdict on the matter.