Auckland's High Court heard that a former Dilworth staffer allegedly “plied” two students with alcohol before taking advantage of them, during a weekend away at his Waiheke Island bach.
Leonard Cave, 75, is on trial at the court, facing 14 charges including for indecent assault and supply of drugs.
The former music teacher has five alleged victims from the Auckland boy’s school, and one other complainant from Hamilton’s St Paul's Collegiate.
The charges date back to 1970.
He’s one of 12 men charged with historical sexual assault in connection to Dilworth, and the first of the group to go to trial.
One victim told the court on Tuesday he had no expectations when he and his friend were invited by their teacher to Waiheke for the weekend, in the 80's.
As a school boarder, whose family lived outside of Auckland, he said, “you don’t get out much and you’re often stuck at the school".
He recalled he was just pleased for an opportunity to get away for the weekend.
The man, who we can’t identify, explained he didn’t pay for the trip himself.
“Being a country boy, I had no money, no income, no way of getting on a ferry to Waiheke Island,” he said.
READ MORE: Trial begins for former Dilworth teacher accused of sex crimes
Also not financed by him, he claimed, was the alcohol they consumed that weekend.
He recalled the drinking was in excess, saying he remembers falling asleep.
He said when he woke up he was in a room by himself, with no sign of Cave or his friend.
“I wake up, don’t know where I am, where they are, don’t know what’s going on, walk into the bedroom… and it’s 'what’s happening?'” he said.
He says he saw Cave indecently assaulting his friend, and he soon found himself involved with the defendant too.
When he pulled himself away from the situation, he said his teacher said, “don’t stop”.
The full details of the accusations are too graphic to repeat.
The alleged victim says he and his friend have never spoken of the incident.
“From the moment it happened, I just blocked it out,” he said.
Defence Counsel Warren Pyke suggested to the complainant that the incident never happened, confirming with the alleged victim that his recollection is “hazy” with “gaps” due to alcohol.
Pyke also challenged him on his intentions for the weekend.
“Isn’t it true that you and your friend were dead keen to get to Waiheke Island to do some drinking?” he said.
“No, I was dead keen to get away from school in the weekends.”
His friend, another complainant in this case, has also given evidence.
Of the plans for the weekend, he told the court, “we knew we were going over there to get drunk.”
“I have a very, very vague recollection of bottle being poured into my mouth with what I think was probably gin."
He recalled that throughout the alleged offending he was in and out of consciousness, describing moments of being aware of Cave’s alleged actions before “blacking out”.
“I’ve never been so drunk in my life.”
The complainant’s recollection of the offending has changed since his original police statement.
The man said he’s come to have “vivid” memories of the incident.
But Pyke suggested to him that, because of his frail memory that night, he’s unable to be sure of what happened.
The complainant denied that, saying he was “100% sure” about the offending he alleges.
The trial continues this afternoon.
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