A jury has retired to consider whether former Dunedin teacher David Russell Bond is guilty of indecently assaulting a former pupil. Defence counsel Anne Stevens QC in her closing statement said the alleged victim, now 25, had told the "most improbable, unbelievable fictions''. The defence case is the complainant read about a 2018 conviction Bond had in the Otago Daily Times, prompting him to go to police and make 68-year-old Bond a "scapegoat'' for longstanding health problems. He claimed to have suffered "bullying and harassment'' by Bond at school, including one other instance when Bond put his crotch in his face, he said. The jury retired about 3.20pm yesterday, and a verdict is expected today.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 11, 2019 15:39 UTC