Reliving sex attack ‘worst time of my life,’ court told
THE trial of a local radio DJ accused of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in the 1980s has heard evidence from the alleged victim, who described how reliving the incident has been “the worst time of his life, ever”.
Kevin Johns, of Gorseinon, Swansea, denies two counts of indecent assault on a boy aged under 16 in Swansea in the 1980s.
The 60-year-old is on trial at Caernarfon Crown Court.
The alleged victim of the abuse has lifelong anonymity.
On Monday, when she opened the case for the prosecution, barrister Elen Owen told the court the alleged incident happened in the 1980s when Johns was in his twenties and the alleged victim was in his early teens.
In a video interview, the witness described how Johns began talking to him, asking him if he had a girlfriend, and whether he “played with himself”. He said he was “totally naive” and didn’t know what was going on.
He said Johns began “pushing the boundaries”, and had a “certain charm and persuasiveness about him”.
The man said, after talking to him, Johns exposed his own privates and encouraged the alleged victim to touch him.
He said he pulled away, and was encouraged to rub Johns’ privates.
Yesterday, the trial heard evidence from the alleged victim, who explained his recollections of the events 40 years ago, and how difficult it had been reliving them for the trial.
He said: “It has been the worst ever time in my life, ever. I don’t think anyone would have any comprehension of how someone will feel. My health has taken a dramatic turn because of the stress and strain of it, which it should never have at all.”
The alleged victim’s family members also gave evidence, including his tearful sister, who recalled how she had seen a picture of Johns in a newspaper and asked her brother whether he had recognised him.
She told the court she was shocked when her brother said Johns had made him perform a sex act.
“I was taken aback. It was such a shock,” she said.
The alleged victim’s wife added that he had also confided in her about what happened during a conversation in the mid-1990s.
She said: “He told me, ‘I’ve got something to tell you and I want to tell you because you might change your mind about getting married.’ I honestly thought he was going to tell me he had a marriage or a child by someone else, but he told me he was sexually abused as a teenager. I was stunned, that was the furthest thing away from my mind. He was crying and distraught.”
Earlier in the day, a short clip from a video interview with the alleged victim was shown to the court. The alleged victim was asked about his knowledge of Johns’ local celebrity status.
He replied: “Only what I’ve been told very recently. My wife looked him up on the internet – for want of a better word he is a Swansea celebrity.
“I’ve seen the pictures of him online and I know what he looks like.”
Defence barrister Matthew Roberts questioned the alleged victim.
Mr Roberts asked whether it was possible for the alleged victim to have confused Johns with someone else.
“I can’t give you 100% what he looked like. I know it was him. I know it was that person,” the witness said.
“My recollection from 40 years ago is as clear as it can be. Certain things are very, very vivid. He just looked like a typical 20-year-old bloke at the time. He was quite a big chap.”
The alleged victim was asked about a picture he saw of Johns, and how he recognised him. He said: “It was as if you were looking up a film star and someone asked you, ‘Is it this film star in that film?’ And you’d say, ‘Yeah, that’s the person.’”
Barrister Mr Roberts asked: “You’ve not seen Mr Johns since he was 20, have you?”
The alleged
“No.”
Mr Roberts said: “You’ve got the wrong person, haven’t you?”
The alleged victim replied: “No.” The trial continues. victim responded: