MAN of 44 has given evidence via video-link from Thailand in the case of a former Plymouth headmaster accused of sexually abusing children.

MAN of 44 has given evidence via video-link from Thailand in the case of a former Plymouth headmaster accused of sexually abusing children.

The witness, a teacher and translator, told Plymouth Crown Court that he attended Widey Court Primary School from the ages of eight to 11.

His form teacher in his final year was the defendant, Neil Dyer, then known as Geoffrey Burley.

The man said that in spring 1978, he was part of a school trip to Maker Camp near Kingsand.


Because he was prone to occasional bed-wetting when in a strange environment, his parents asked for him to be woken up during the night to go to the toilet.

The man said that on two nights, he awoke to find Burley sexually abusing him.

The man said: "The second occasion was identical in every respect; I have a very vivid recollection."

The man said he told only one other boy, and learned he was not alone in his experiences.

When asked why he had not reported the attacks, he said: "In my naivety I didn't realise any crime had been committed; I didn't realise how improper it was."

The man said that on March 4 last year, his father phoned him about a report in The Herald about Dyer, not because he thought his son was a victim but because the story concerned one of his former teachers.

The man added: "It was only then that I gave him the detailed version I am telling you here today.

"I then phoned the police."

Dyer, aged 71 and of Stokes Lane, The Barbican, denies 28 counts of sexual assault against 13 boys and one girl between 1975-1985 and a 19-year-old soldier in 1992. Yesterday Judge Paul Darlow ruled that the trial could carry on with 11 jurors after one fell ill last week and it became clear she would not return soon.