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Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
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Another girl gave
evidence of being indecently assaulted at school as the trial of a Horowhenua
schoolteacher continued in Palmerston North District Court yesterday . Michael Warren Neville,
48, is facing charges of indecently assaulting four girls at the school,
which cannot be named for legal reasons, between January 1999 and August
2003. The third complainant,
none of whom can be identified, yesterday gave evidence of Neville touching
her after she helped him tidy after class. The touching is alleged
to have taken place towards the end of term three in 2002, when the
complainant, who was eight at the time, helped Neville tidy away books into a
storeroom. The witness, who was
cross-examined by video, said she had helped Neville tidy up and then went to
an office to photocopy a work plan for the next day. When she returned,
after 10 minutes, the alleged assault happened. "He said it was
all done now and gave me a cuddle and he touched me," she said in answer
to questions from defence counsel Bruce Squire QC. The girl said Neville
touched her under her track pants for about two minutes. Mr Squire questioned
the girl about whether she had made the complaint against Neville after
talking to another complainant at a school market day, which she denied. He also questioned her
about going around the school telling other pupils that she had got Neville
into trouble and that he would go to prison. She initially denied this, but
then accepted that she had been told off by another teacher for spreading
stories. "But I didn't say
he would go to jail," she said. The court was closed to
the public during the testimony and supporters of Neville had to wait
outside. The case, which is
being heard in front of Judge Les Atkins, is expected to run until Monday. |
