Man says former Dilworth teacher chased him down road after escape

A former Dilworth student has described how he was chased down the road by his teacher at night, after he had allegedly been sexually assaulted by him.

The man’s giving evidence at the High Court in Auckland, as part of the trial of former school teacher, 75-year-old Leonard Cave.

He is the fifth alleged victim to give evidence so far, and one of four that claim offending against them occurred at the defendant’s Waiheke Island bach.

The student claims he met with Cave on Waiheke Island around Easter, 1985.

He recalls being told not to come straight to his house, but to meet his teacher by a shop.

But when he saw the defendant, he claims he was told, “my wife and children are here, I’m going to have to convince them to go.”

The complainant said Cave indicated he would hang a round mat over the balcony of his property, as a signal, when it was safe to come up and join him.

When he eventually went to the bach, he said the pair drank beer and played cards, before going to the pub for dinner and more beer.

It’s when they returned to the bach, he alleges the defendant sexually abused him.

It started with the pair playing games, the complainant described.

Firstly card games, and then, he said, “a camera was produced and photos were taken, poses were made.

“Then it was, ‘wouldn’t it be good if you took your shirt off? Wouldn’t it be good if you took your pants off? Wouldn’t it be good if you were naked to take photos?’" he recalled

He said those sort of games weren’t entirely unusual at a boy’s school, but it was unusual to be doing it with a teacher.

READ MORE: Staff member told Dilworth student his alleged abuser was a 'great guy'

He recalled Cave then advanced on him, and sexually assaulted him.

His actions, too graphic to repeat, left the student “just stunned”.

“It was all a bit ‘oh my God’, this was a teacher, an adult," he told the court.

He recalled Cave wanting to take things further.

“I was led into the bedroom and led to lie down on the bed. He came to lie down next to me. I went ‘oh my god’ and stood up.”

He described it as a “a moment of clarity”, and he proceeded to quickly get dressed and pack up his belongings. As he did so, he said Cave was trying to restrain him.

“He was indicating everything was alright, that I didn’t have to leave. He had his hands on me, hands on both sides of my shoulders.”

But he said his teacher wasn’t strong enough to stop him, and he took off.

As he made off down the road, “I heard this noise behind me, and he was running down the road behind me.”

He says he raced all the way to the pub, where he arranged a taxi.

The defendant lawyer, Warren Pyke suggested to the complainant, that no sexual abuse occurred.

The witness disputed that, saying everything occurred as he described.

Pyke also pointed out that the complainant had said nothing about the bedroom in his original statement to police.

He also confirmed with the alleged victim that he had taken his own clothes off, and was also the first to get on the bed.

The jury heard that he stayed the night at the house of someone else he knew on Waiheke, who escorted him back to Auckland the next day.

The alleged victim says he told his mother what happened.

She’s also given evidence in court, saying while she reported it to the school, almost 40 years on, she bitterly regrets not taking it to police herself.

The complainant recounted another incident in court on Wednesday, describing a bit of “rough and tumble” where another student was stripped of his pants by Cave, at school.

He spoke of “vivid” memories of the student’s pants being thrown on top of the wardrobe and the student having to climb up and retrieve them, as their teacher snapped photos.

That other student involved has also given evidence in court.

He recalled being encouraged by both his teacher and peer, to remove his clothes.

“Eventually I was naked, down on all fours and crawling around the office,” he said.

“Photos were taken at various angles of me.”

He spoke of the trust he had placed in Cave, as a teacher, describing their relationship as “amazing”.

Asked how he was feeling as the incident unfolded, he said, “I think, predominantly, I was probably shocked, that something like that could have been asked of me by someone I had immense trust in.

“To have that happen was a massive breach of that trust.”

He admitted he had been the one to undress himself, but said he had felt coerced by both Cave and the other student.

Pyke suggested the entire “rough and tumble” incident “is fiction, it didn’t happen at all”.

The witness assured him it did.

“There are things that happen in your life that stay with you,” saying for him, this event was one of those.

The trial, before Justice Mary Peters and a jury, continues on Thursday.