The trial of a former Auckland high school teacher has begun with the Crown alleging Benjamin Christopher Missi Swann committed indecent acts against seven different boys .
The Crown has opened the case in the High Court in Auckland this morning, telling the jury their case will rely on all seven of the boys and the evidence they will give as part of the trial.
Court orders have restricted a lot of details that can be reported in order to protect the identity of the complainants.
Swann sat in the dock nodding his head in disagreement as the crown prosecutor David Stevens made his opening argument to the jury of seven women and five men.
The defence has asked the jury to use their common sense to spot the lies.
“It all sounds very bad, and if it was true, it would be very bad, but Mr Swann denies them 100 percent,” said the defence lawyer Sam Wimsett.
Police were alerted to the alleged offending after one boy and his mother came forward. A police investigation then discovered there were six others making the same allegations.
The 55-year-old denies all ten charges.
Newshub.
