Christopher Victor Todman, 72, appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday for his judge-alone trial.
He earlier pleaded not guilty to five charges of indecency with a boy under 12 — but yesterday Judge Hermann Retzlaff dismissed one charge after the Crown opted not to pursue it.
Yesterday, one complainant gave evidence about staying at the defendant’s house in the 1990s when he was about 8.
In an interview with police conducted last year, the complainant said the defendant had about five boys sleep over and watched them undress before making the group take a bath together.
After dinner, he would "select a kid" to sleep in the spare bedroom, the witness said.
On the occasions the witness was selected, Todman allegedly gave him two small white pills to take with a glass of water.
"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 witness got flashbacks when he took medication which led him to believe he was indecently assaulted after taking the pills, he said.
On some nights other children were allegedly "selected" but he did not know if anything happened to them because the door was closed.
On another occasion, the witness said Todman groped him while applying ointment and other boys in the room saw it happen.
He had first met the defendant through church, but another complainant gave evidence about incidents during piano lessons with the defendant in the chapel at John McGlashan College.
Yesterday the second complainant said Todman forced him to sit on his knee and pulled him into his crotch area during the lessons.
"Everything Chris did was so well-practised and so charismatic, there was no arguing with it, there was nothing I could do; I was completely helpless," the witness said.
"It was like being tangled up in a wrestling move ... he was determined to have his hands and his arms where they were."
After that, there was another "practically identical" situation, but later when Todman asked the student to sit on his lap, the complainant said he curled into a ball so he could not get to him.
He said Todman then said "you don’t like cuddles?".
After that, the defendant’s attitude towards the victim turned sour, and later the victim got a new piano teacher, he said.
"I felt really threatened by this guy," the complainant told the court.
"Having someone take advantage of you physically ... It took all my confidence. From that point I was damaged and couldn’t recover."
Judge Retzlaff is presiding over the trial, which continues today.
felicity.dear@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
