Allegations of Sexual Abuse
	False Allegations
	Michael Neville case
	Manawatu Standard November 23 2004 Trial opens for teacher accused of fondling pupils Kapiti Coast primary school teacher Michael Warren Neville, 48, went on trial yesterday accused of indecently assaulting four of his female pupils over a four-year period. The four individual charges of indecent assault on girls under 12 cover the period January 1999 to August 2003. The name of the school at which the alleged offending took place is suppressed until the end of trial. In Palmerston North District Court, Crown prosecutor Katrina Barber said Neville fondled the girls - all of whose names are suppressed - in the playground, once in a storage area, but primarily in his classroom. Three of the charges are representative, meaning they cover several alleged offences over a period of time. A fourth alleges one particular offence. One of the complainants - in a video-taped interview with a CYF interviewer - said Neville regularly slipped his hand into her clothing while she stood at her desk for a spelling lesson. She is to continue giving evidence today. The trial is being prosecuted by Mrs Barber and Ben Vanderkolk. Neville is defended by Bruce Squire QC and Sandra Moran, of Wellington. The trial, presided over by Judge Les Atkins, is expected to run until at least Friday.