A former Marist Brother allegedly groomed a young boy for up to a year before beginning to molest him, the ACT Supreme Court has heard.
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John William Chute, 86, is on trial for 16 charges of alleged sexual abuse of six boys at Marist College Canberra in the 1970s and 1980s.
Mr Chute, known in his Marist days as Brother Kostka, is facing a special hearing without a jury due to his declining health. He has been excused from appearing in court during the trial.
On Tuesday the court heard from three alleged victims of Mr Chute who described how he would often call them to his office and molest them or rub himself against them in class.
The court heard from another alleged victim on Wednesday, via a recorded police interview entered as evidence. The man spoke of how Mr Chute had allegedly groomed him.
He recalled the boys' school uniform included shorts all year round and that Mr Chute began by putting his hand on his leg or giving him a cuddle.
"He'd try to get to know you," the man said.
"At the start I just thought he was just showing a bit of affection."
He said the teacher would try and get in his mind and would often say "you're a nice boy" while touching him, or question him about God.
The alleged victim said Chute could often be found wandering the school with a group of four boys and his labrador.
He said when he was in year six Mr Chute, who was headmaster of the primary school at Marist, began to call him to his office every week and allegedly started molesting him.
"My old man wouldn't like what's going on here," the man said he told Mr Chute.
"He's not going to know, is he?" Mr Chute allegedly responded
"He doesn't need to know."
The man said he never told his parents what was happening to him because he was afraid his father would confront Mr Chute and likely assault him. He said he was afraid of having to go back to school if his father had intervened.
He said Mr Chute regularly found excuses to punish him, which involved being called into his office, asked to touch his toes with the threat of the strap.
Instead, the man said, Mr Chute would grab his genitals and rub his buttocks.
He said there were rumours about Mr Chute circling the school and he would often discuss with his school mates what he had heard. However, he never told anyone about the alleged abuse until decades later.
The trial continues.
