Teacher accused of abuse
AUCKLAND: The mother of a boy allegedly sexually abused by Benjamin Swann has relived the moment her son confided in her and spoken of ‘‘how much he hated what had happened’’.
Swann, a teacher, is being retried in the High Court at Auckland on 10 charges of indecent acts on six boys.
In a video interview, played in court yesterday, the first complainant told a police officer he was locked in a room with Swann before being indecently touched.
‘‘I didn’t like him touching me,’’ he said.
Under crossexamination in court, defence lawyer Sam Wimsett asked: ‘‘Did you actually see him lock this door?’’
‘‘No,’’ the complainant replied.
‘‘Did you make it up?’’
‘‘No,’’ the complainant said again before agreeing he had guessed.
His mother then gave evidence recalling the moment her son had told her he needed to confide in her, just the two of them.
‘‘I realised how much he hated what had happened to him and that it was all true,’’ she said.
She spoke through tears of what he had told her.
‘‘It was hard for him to tell the story,’’ she said.
In his opening argument, Crown prosecutor Chris Howard said when the first complainant told his mother it had ‘‘triggered the police investigation’’ that identified five others.
Mr Howard said there were common themes in the complaints, which was neither coincidence nor collusion.
‘‘These allegations are similar because the defendant did similar things to all of these boys.’’
Mr Wimsett said the allegations were a ‘‘nightmare’’ that should only become Swann’s reality if the Crown could prove these charges beyond reasonable doubt.
But the evidence logically and forensically fell short, Mr Wimsett said, adding Swann very clearly denied the allegations.
‘‘Noone got naked. Noone fell asleep . . . It’s a very, very clear position from Mr Swann.’’
And that was a very clear denial, he said.
‘‘In our society, allegations from these boys are not enough,’’ he said.
‘‘To convict Mr Swann you would have to be sure.’’
And until that happened he was innocent in fact and because the law says he is, Mr Wimsett said.
Swann would elect to give evidence later in the trial, even though he did not have to, he said.
A jury of six men and six women is deliberating over the threeweek trial.
Justice Simon Moore told the jury as the case unfolded it would become obvious this was a retrial, but that was not unusual and ‘‘utterly irrelevant’’ to their task.
‘‘Fairness and openmindedness is central to the integrity of our system,’’ Justice Moore said.
‘‘You must be scrupulously fair.’’
Before the trial ended for the day he reiterated his cautions that it was of ‘‘critical importance’’ jurors did not talk about this case with anyone outside the court.
‘‘The temptation will be great when you get home. Just say the judge told me not to.’’
The defendant’s teaching career spanned 30 years.
He was last a teacher at Otahuhu College but has taught at other Auckland schools during his career.
Swann has voluntarily agreed to stop teaching, according to the Teaching Council’s register. — The New Zealand Herald