http://www.stuff.co.nz/4734518a11.html

The Southland Times
October 21 2008

Teacher played 'slavery' game with boys, court told

An Invercargill primary school teacher accused of performing indecent acts on two boys played "slavery" games with them while on his farm, a jury was told yesterday.

Paul Alexander Conner, who turns 42 tomorrow, faces one charge of performing an indecent act on an 11-year-old boy and four charges of performing indecent acts on another boy, aged between 11 and 13.

A schoolteacher for 22 years and New River Primary School teacher in Invercargill at the time of the alleged offending, Conner denied the charges at the start of his jury trial in the Invercargill District Court yesterday.

His lawyer, Philip McDonald, said the offending did not happen and the issue was one of credibility.

Crown prosecutor Bill Dawkins said Conner had taught both the boys at New River School and asked them, at different times, to go to his Bainfield Rd farm to help him work his greyhounds.

Mr Dawkins said when Conner took the 11-year-old to his farm he introduced him to a game that would ultimately lead to Conner performing indecent acts on him.

Conner had water pistols, which he divided between him and the boy. They would move about the farm and play hide and seek and each time Conner found the boy he would be required to hand over one of the guns in his collection, Mr Dawkins said.

Conner then tied the boy up loosely with a rope and led him to a shed and laid him down on a mat. A lolly was put in the boy's mouth and Conner lay over him, both still clothed, and rubbed up against him.

A similar sequence of events happened three or four times in the same morning each time another gun was given up by the boy, Mr Dawkins said.

The boy also complained that on five or six occasions that morning Conner pretended he was frisking him for weapons and touched his private parts and bottom over his clothes, Mr Dawkins said. Conner later drove the boy home and stopped at a service station and gave the boy $20.

The boy said Conner had told him the rules of the game when they arrived at the farm and "it was like a slavery game"

Mr Dawkins said the second boy had also described going to Conner's farm and walking the greyhounds and playing a game of the same kind. Conner held him on the ground, rubbed against him and pretended to knock him out, giving the boy a lolly to bring him back to life, Mr Dawkins said.

Mr Dawkins said Conner had told police in an interview he accepted the boys had been at his property to help with the greyhounds and the "hide-and-seek situation" . He denied tying them up but acceped later a rope was used to slide back and forth over the hands. He denied frisking them but said he would slap their arms to see whether they had weapons, Mr Dawkins said.

He denied inappropriate touching or rubbing against the boys, Mr Dawkins said.

The trial is expected to last all week.