|
|
Allegations
of Sexual Abuse |
|
Two of the four girls
said to have been indecently assaulted by Kapiti teacher Michael Warren
Neville could not be relied upon to tell the truth, their former deputy
principal told Palmerston North District Court yesterday. The defence witness,
who can not be identified because the name of the school has been suppressed,
described the accused as an exceptional teacher with a rare ability to relate
to children. "He has professional
traits that not all teachers have and he definitely has the X factor when it
comes to teaching children," the witness said. Neville, 48, has
pleaded not guilty to four charges of indecent assault on girls under 12
years old. The offences are alleged to have happened between January 1999 and
August 2003 while the girls were pupils of his. The deputy principal
said the school had suffered a great shock when its principal died suddenly
and for a time staff were encouraged to comfort the children. "There was a lot
of grief in the school and while we had help from Victim Support the students
didn't identify with strangers from outside. They wanted people they knew,
particularly their teachers." When court resumed
yesterday, Neville denied touching pupils indecently in the ways specified in
the charges. He said he ran all his
classes on an open door policy, with parents able to come and go, or even sit
with their children for a while. "I encourage
parents to be part of their child's learning," he said. The spelling checks
referred to by one of the complainants happened not twice a week as had been
suggested, but only on Fridays. Children were given
between five and 10 new words to learn on Mondays and their progress was
checked at the end of the week. "They'd be at my
desk for three or four minutes," he said. "If they hadn't got it in
that time, I'd put the book aside – I had 24 children to do." He said the children
would usually stand to his right. He would hold their book in his right hand
so that they could not see the words and mark off each word with his left
hand. If a child did
particularly well he might say "well done", put the book down and
pat them on the back at hip pocket level as they moved away. "Sometimes I'd put
an arm around their shoulder and give them a squeeze." Ben Vanderkolk and
Katrina Barber are appearing for the Crown and Bruce Squire and Sandra Moran
for the defence. |
