Doubts about ‘groping’ timing

"I was not wanting to sound judgmental, but you get impressions of people – but you keep it inside. When I first met the guy, I didn't yell, 'yes, this guy looks creepy'. That's just rude." Boy explains his impressions of alleged groper.

One of two boys allegedly groped in a mosque says the incident happened before Ramadan.

But, the Crown says, the offending took place during the festival.

A Wellington man, who has name suppression, is on trial in the Palmerston North District Court on four charges of indecent assault, each against a different boy.

Two incidents allegedly happened in a mosque in Palmerston North in 2013, while the other two stem from incidents in 2014 in the mosque in Kilbirnie, Wellington.

The defence case is the two Palmerston North incidents were accidents, while the two in Wellington either did not happen or are cases of mistaken identity.

In his opening remarks, Crown prosecutor Michael Blaschke said the two Wellington incidents happened near the end of Ramadan.

Both the Wellington charges allege the incidents happened between July 11 and 28, 2014.

But in court on Wednesday, one of the boys said he was indecently assaulted before Ramadan, possibly in June.

The boy said he stayed at the mosque for about a month, including the last 10 days of Ramadan, to take part in i’tikaaf – a time when people devote themselves to prayer and teachings.

He was sleeping in a room with other young boys and awoke to find someone touching his penis.

‘‘I was quite shocked and weird about it.

‘‘It was not just a touch, more like a grab.

‘‘I could tell it was a hand. I don’t think your feet can grab.’’

Morning prayers were going on, so he left and went to those, he said.

‘‘I guess he was sleeping, as his eyes were closed.’’

The other boy said he was touched by the man on the last Friday of Ramadan.

He was also sleeping and awoke to find someone touching his penis, he said.

He then hit a man who was in front of him, before hitting a friend sleeping behind him.

The next day, he, the other boy and some friends talked about what happened.

‘‘They were just talking about [the man], saying that he is a bit kooky.

‘‘That was when I realised what happened, then I told them, my mates.’’

From a photo montage, both boys picked the man on trial out as the person who touched them.

They said they knew his face because they saw him in the mosque.

Defence lawyer Susan Hughes, QC, asked the second boy about comments he made to police about the man.

The boy had said the man fitted ‘‘the profile of a person that would do something like that’’.

The boy told the court he was asked by the officer to describe everything about the man.

‘‘She asked me to pretty much judge the guy, so that’s what came out.

‘‘I was not wanting to sound judgmental, but you get impressions of people – but you keep it inside.

‘‘When I first met the guy, I didn’t yell, ‘yes, this guy looks creepy’. That’s just rude.’’

Earlier this week, the court heard from the boys allegedly groped in the Palmerston North mosque.

The Crown has now finished calling evidence.

The trial, before Judge Lance Rowe and a jury of six men and six women, continues.