Tears in court as witness recalls sex abuse claim

A former Wanganui woman broke down in court yesterday as she cast her mind back 16 years to the time her daughter alleged she was sexually abused in a playhouse.

The woman, who is not the complainant's biological mother but cared for her until she was 20, was giving evidence in the trial of Daniel Bell.

Bell's trial in the High Court at Whanganui began on Monday. He faces 32 charges of sexual offending against eight young girls. They include 12 counts of rape, three counts of unlawful sexual connection, and 17 counts of indecent assault.

Bell has already admitted one count of indecency against another girl, aged 12-16.

Justice David Collins and a jury of five men and seven women watched an evidential video interview on Tuesday of a 5-year-old girl who said Bell pulled down her pants and "kissed" her "under there".

The video was from 1999 and the complainant is now 21.

Yesterday's witness was in a relationship with the complainant's father at the time of the alleged offending.

While in the witness stand, she described to Crown prosecutor Harry Mallalieu how, about a week-and-a-half after the alleged incident, the child claimed she had been kissed between her legs.

"She just said, 'Mummy, do naughty men go to jail'?" the witness said through tears. "I said, 'Why, who's naughty'? and she told me Daniel was naughty."

The child had said Bell told her not to tell her parents otherwise they wouldn't "be able to do it again", she said.

Defence lawyer Fergus Steedman said the suggestion the child knew the alleged act was "naughty" was inconsistent with her second police interview last year.

The complainant, then 20, had said she didn't remember much except standing naked in the playhouse with Bell kneeling nearby. She had said she didn't remember feeling worried or scared, but was only confused at the time.

The witness's account of telling Bell's partner was also different from Bell's partner's account. The witness had said she sent the partner to speak to the child, and the partner had come back crying and was "apologetic".

However, in her police statement, the partner had said the witness told her personally, and she felt "disgusted" and "knew it wouldn't be true", and she had been with Bell the entire time they were at the complainant's house the day of the alleged offending.

The partner no longer remembered any of the information she included in her police statement from 1999, she told the court in evidence yesterday.

The jury also viewed a video interview with another complainant, who alleged Bell rubbed her vagina and legs when she was aged 5 or 6. The complainant said Bell pulled down her pants, and also played a game called "fire truck" and started running his hands up her legs and another girl's.

She said the alleged offences all happened on separate occasions.

She was 14 when she gave the interview last year and was to give evidence today. The trial continues.