Sex charge head aided toilet girl

The National Association of Head Teachers is backing David Thorley

A girl has admitted she needed help to remove her clothes during toilet visits with a head teacher who denies sexual assault charges against children.

David Thorley, 56, from Carmarthen, denies 19 such charges at a trial at Swansea Crown Court.

In a taped interview, the girl, now 12, said she was taken to hospital after breaking her collar bone.

She said Mr Thorley removed her jeans and underwear in the toilet but under cross-examination said she was in pain.

The 40-minute videotaped interview with the girl, then aged 10, was filmed in July 2007 a few days after the alleged incident took place.

In it she told specially trained officers she had been hurt in the school playground and Mr Thorley had taken her to hospital.

CCTV link

The girl said that in several visits to the toilet in the accident and emergency department she could have undressed herself and did not need help from Mr Thorley to use tissue paper.

But after the tape was played and under cross-examination, the girl, who was in an adjoining room watching from a CCTV link, agreed that on the day she broke her collar bone she had felt dizzy, could not walk very well and had been unable to use her arm.

She conceded at one point she did need Mr Thorley's help to remove her jeans and pants to go to the toilet.

The court also heard the girl had a series of bruises and marks as a result of being hit by her mother's boyfriend.

After Mr Thorley reported these marks to the care agencies, the girl was taken into care, the jury was told.

Marian Lewis defending, asked the girl if her mother held a grudge against Mr Thorley and the girl replied that she did not know what a grudge was but that her mother had certainly been angry with Mr Thorley, the court heard.

She said she still felt very embarrassed and upset by what happened.

Mr Thorley is the head teacher of a primary school in Pembrokeshire.

The jury at Swansea Crown Court also watched a video interview made by police in which the girl described how a medical difficulty caused her to wet herself.

A supply of clean underwear was kept for her and she told a police officer how she went into a room, took off her wet clothing, applied cream to her body and then put on fresh underwear.

But when she gave evidence in person, the girl said Mr Thorley had put a blue rubber glove onto his right hand and applied the cream himself on one occasion.

Ms Lewis said the girl had never made such an allegation before then.

Ms Lewis said during the video interview the girl had said on 13 occasions that she had always applied the cream herself.

But the girl said she was positive the incident happened.

The girl said: "It left me nervous and shaky. I didn't know whether I should tell my mother. I didn't know whether it was the right thing or not."

Miss Lewis said: "What you have told this afternoon are lies."

The girl broke down and said: "No, it's true. I'm positive it was a blue glove. It came from a box in the cupboard."

The case continues.