Two Pacific Island boys could have lied about abuse allegations because they were tired of life in New Zealand and wanted to return to Tokelau, a Christchurch District Court jury was told today.
Judge Raoul Neave mentioned the defence claim as he summed up in the week-long trial before the jury retired to consider its verdicts on 14 charges against 46-year-old fisheries worker Motuloto Tovio, the Christchurch Court News website reported.
He is alleged to have slapped, punched, or struck the boys, aged four and nine, with a variety of household objects while they were in his care.
The judge said the defence allegation had not been put to the boys when they gave their evidence to the trial via closed-circuit television link.
The issue facing the jury was a simple one: Was it satisfied beyond reasonable doubt that the boys were telling the truth?
The crown said that what the boys stated in their second interview - three months after the allegations arose and they were taken into care - was the truth and they didn't feel able to say what happened in the first interview because they were still frightened of Tovio.
But defence counsel Colin Eason had said that the second interview was suspect because the boys wanted to ensure they stayed some distance from Tovio and because they wanted to go back to their family in Tokelau.
The judge said the jury was entitled to take into account similarities in the boys' stories if it wished. In their accounts, the boys described the same sort of assaults with the same implements.
The defence suggested that the boys had time to "match" their stories because they were brothers who spent a lot of time together.
Judge Neave referred to a doctor's evidence concerning the claim that scratches on one boy's leg were caused by a cat. The doctor said the position of the scratches, the gap between them, and the nature of the marks made this unlikely.
Judge Neave finished his summing up at 10.55am and the jury then retired to consider its verdicts.
