A FORMER Armidale primary school teacher accused of sexually abusing 18 young boys has fronted court for the first time to answer the historical charges.
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Ian Berryman tried to shield his face from The Leader when he walked into Armidale Local Court yesterday morning charged with 33 separate offences dating back to the early 1970s.
The 71-year-old was the first of two former Ben Venue Public School teachers to be charged by detectives attached to Strike Force Flair, after almost two years of investigations.
The covert police operation, which was revealed by The Leader when Berryman was arrested in late May, was triggered by a referral from the Royal Commission into Institutional Response to Child Sexual Abuse in 2013.
Yesterday, Magistrate Michael Holmes was told the DPP had taken charge of the case and ordered investigators compile the brief of evidence against the accused.
“He’s charged with indecent assault on a male,” Mr Holmes told the court, which was the charge in place at the time of the alleged offending.
“There are 33 sequences.”
But Mr Holmes flatly rejected any request for a non-publication order on Berryman, after police prosecutor Sergeant Jodie Westman confirmed with a detective seated in court that police did not want the accused’s name suppressed.
“Why ... they are all adult victims,” he told Berryman’s solicitor Frank Falcomata.
“There is no order for the alleged offender. I’ll make a non-publication on the names of the victims. Simple as that.”
Another former Ben Venue Public School teacher was arrested by Strike Force Flair detectives last Thursday after a raid on his Armidale home saw photographs of interest seized by investigators.
The 77-year-old was charged with 15 historical sex abuse allegations on six young girls who were students at the time of the alleged offending.
Both teachers are accused of sexually abusing the young children between 1970 and 1974, mostly on school grounds.
During yesterday’s proceedings, Mr Falcomata requested his client’s bail conditions be relaxed, to report only three days a week to police.
“I understand police will not oppose reducing it to three days,” he told the court.
Mr Holmes granted the application, ordering Berryman to report to Armidale police on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Berryman remains on bail and will return to court in September.
