A woman who was sexually abused by a teacher at a Hobart school 22 years ago tells a court she still struggles to cope with the effects.
"Pollard's year of abuse has left me with 22 years of pain," the woman told the court.The woman said while she was perceived by others as successful in her life, inside she felt highly dysfunctional.
However, she said when she made the official complaint, she was embarrassed, ashamed and scared, and could not bring herself to reveal the full extent of the abuse.The woman said the trauma of the abuse had fractured her relationship with her mother, and still affected her relationships with her husband and children.
One of the disputed facts is the complainant's account of a visit to Pollard's house during which, she said, he digitally penetrated her.Crown Prosecutor Lisa Pennington said the complainant's evidence was consistent and showed she had a good memory of past events, so Chief Justice Alan Blow should accept her account of the incident as having happened beyond reasonable doubt.
Pollard's lawyer, Garth Stevens, argued the Crown was trying to reverse the onus of proof and said it was not up to his client to prove allegations against him were not true.
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