Christopher Victor Todman, 72, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday after he defended five charges of indecent assault on boys under 12 at a judge-alone trial in December.
One charge was dismissed at trial after the Crown opted not to pursue it, but yesterday Judge Hermann Retzlaff found the defendant guilty on three of the remaining charges.
The charges stemmed from incidents in the 1990s when Todman was a piano teacher at John McGlashan.
The judge found the two complainants gave ‘‘sincere, upfront and honest’’ evidence, while Todman’s story was ‘‘convenient to his defence position but ... ultimately lacking in any true credibility’’.
At trial, one complainant gave evidence that when he stayed at Todman’s house he would ‘‘select a kid’’ to sleep in the spare room while the others stayed in the lounge.
He said when he was chosen, the defendant gave him two white pills to take.
‘‘I was too drugged-up to even put into context what was actually happening,’’ the witness said in his police interview.
He felt like he was touched inappropriately but could not be certain.
The Judge found Todman not guilty on the charge of indecent assault relating to that incident, as he could not be sure from the complainant’s evidence, whether he was recalling a dream or vision.
The complainant also alleged that Todman groped him while applying ointment, in front of other boys who were staying at the man’s house.
Judge Retzlaff found the charge of indecent assault relating to that incident proven.
The second man recalled Todman assaulting him during piano lessons.
He said the defendant told him to sit on his lap, then pulled his bottom into his crotch area despite his resistance.
At trial he told the court about the ‘‘indescribable terror’’ he felt during these incidents.
‘‘I was completely helpless ... he could just overpower me so easily.’’
The defendant claimed he could not recall ever meeting the student.
But Judge Retzlaff preferred the complainant’s evidence and found Todman guilty on both charges relating to him.
While Todman denied all criminal allegations against him at trial, he did admit he had a sexual interest in young boys.
‘‘I guess they were just my world,’’ Todman said.
He said his interest in the boys was ‘‘not just sexual ... I considered them to be my friends as well’’.
He admitted to having groups of boys stay at his house and watching them undress and bathe together.
In 2024, Todman was jailed after a jury found him guilty of six charges of indecent assault against his 12-year-old piano student.
He started by touching the pupil’s leg, which progressed to pressing his face against his and later licking and nibbling the boy’s ear.
In 1994, Todman was jailed for two and a-half years after admitting he indecently assaulted six boys who came to him for piano lessons or stayed overnight at his house.
Judge Retzlaff remanded Todman on electronically-monitored bail until his sentencing in May.
