|
|
Allegations of Abuse
in Institutions |
|
The former Salvation Army officer
accused of sex charges against children at Timaru's Bramwell Booth Children's
Home 30 years ago, continued to deny the allegations when he gave evidence in
the High Court at Timaru on Wednesday. On the seventh day of his trial
John Francis Gainsford, 69, retired, of Auckland, continued to strongly deny
all but four of the 27 charges involving eight complainants. He also denied
many of the incidents the court has heard about in recent days, had even
occurred. Gainsford's counsel, Paul Dacre,
told the jury the accused had behaved badly toward some of the children and
he acknowledged that with the four guilty pleas (to three charges of indecent
assault on a girl aged under 12 and a charge of inducing a girl then aged 12
to do an indecent act on him). Gainsford's responses to all the
remaining 23 indecency and rape charges were all similar, stating simply
"no" when asked if he could recall the incident, or stating
"it did not" (happen). The last crown witness told the
court that as a teenage boy he ran into the staff lounge one night to find
Gainsford sitting in the dark with his trousers down, and his hand between
the legs of a young girl who was sitting with her legs spread across his
crotch area. The man told of playing chase with
another boy that night, and the pair running into a staff lounge which was
out of bounds to the children. Light from the hallway shone into the dark
room and he could see Gainsford and the girl. The child's dress was pulled up
around her waist. Told by Mr Dacre that Gainsford
could not recall the incident, the witness replied it had happened, it was a
matter of fact, and both boys had seen it. Later, under cross examination,
Gainsford admitted that while he did not recall the incident, he accepted the
man's evidence was "factually based". Asked by Tim Gresson (for the
Crown) whether all the complainants and witnesses were either mistaken or had
given false evidence, Gainsford said he could only assume they were mistaken,
but he did not believe they had deliberately lied. Gainsford denied the sexual abuse
had been much more extensive and he was simply in denial. "I am quite positive it is
not. It is firmly imprinted on my mind, I had to answer to the Salvation Army
and the Department of Social Welfare." To Mr Gresson's suggestion that
Gainsford had a problem with self control when it came to little children,
Gainsford replied he had never had a problem with little boys, but for a
brief period of time he did have a problem with four little girls (of whom
three were complainants in the trial). "I felt devastated when I
read about it (read their statements), ashamed about it." Gainsford suggested the
complainants' memories may have hung on to things they imagined at the time
and were now remembering as reality. The trial before Justice Fogarty
and a jury of three men and nine women continues today. |
