Assault trial of former history teacher continues

A woman who claims she was sexually abused by a teacher in the 1970s says she felt terrified during the ordeal.

The evidence was heard during the trial of a former history teacher charged with indecently assaulting six teenage girls at a south Belfast grammar school.

William Lloyd-Lavery of Richmond Avenue in Lisburn is accused of nine counts of indecent assault and two further counts of gross indecency between 1974 and 1979.

He denies the charges.

The 77-year-old was a history teacher at Richmond Lodge School at the time of the alleged offences.

During the evidence of one of the six complaints, their ABE (Achieving Best Evidence) interview was played to the jury. ABE interviews are PSNI recorded video interviews with a complainant.

The woman who is now in her 60s told a detective in March 2020 about several incidents that she said had happened at Richmond Lodge.

In the interview, she recalled an incident where she says Mr Lloyd-Lavery sexually assaulted her in a dark store room.

She said during the incident he asked her “Do you mind me doing this?” She said those words were “ingrained in her memory”.

Richmond Lodge School merged with Victoria College in 1987.

It was located on the grounds of what is now the junior campus of Victoria College on Belfast’s Malone Road.