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Jury sees taped sex offence allegations
A 12-year-old girl has given evidence alleging sex offending by a man from the time she was aged five.
The evidential video interview made in 2008 was played to a jury in the Christchurch District Court on the second day of the man’s trial on allegations of 16 offences against three children.
The 37-year-old man, who has name suppression, has denied all the charges at the six or seven day trial before Judge Jane Farish and the jury.
Claire Boshier and Kathy Basire appear for the crown, and Colin Eason and Matthew Martin appear as defence counsel.
The jury viewed tapes of evidential interviews recorded when one of the girls was five and another when she was aged 10. In the total of almost 50min of recording, the girl made no allegations of offences by the man.
The jury then heard a 50min tape made when the girl was 12 in which she said the man had been touching her chest and “between my legs” since she was about five years old.
She told of him touching her private parts with his hands and private parts, and trying to get her to perform oral sex. She alleged intercourse had taken place.
She said her body sometimes had red marks from where he had held her down, and she would have pain in her private area for about a day.
Sometimes he would hit her “because I would not shut up”. She said in evidence that fighting back would usually result in her getting hurt.
The most recent incident had taken place in the week before the video interview. She said she had not mentioned the offending in the earlier interviews because she was terrified of the man.
She alleged that the man had made a boy touch her and another girl.
The girl is now aged 14 and today gave evidence to the trial on closed-circuit television from another part of the Court House.
The man denies three charges of indecent assault, four of committing indecent acts, and nine of sexual violation.
The trial is expected to finish next week.
Update at 3.25pm: Cross-examined by Mr Eason, the girl said she was sometimes looked after by an older man and had also made accusations of being touched by him.
Mr Eason asked: “Do you think it is possible that the way you have remembered things, it could be that you are not quite sure who did what things?”
The girl replied: “I know who did what.”
She later explained to the crown prosecutor: “I definitely know which one did which things to me. I can easily tell the difference between them.”
She was also asked about her comments in the video-taped interviews played to the trial indicating that she wanted more attention from the man who is on trial.
The trial adjourned for the day at 3pm and will hear evidence and recordings of interviews by another child witness tomorrow.
