THE THIRD man to accuse a former Workington teacher of abusing him told a jury he failed to disclose what happened becuse he feared appearing “weak”.

The man made the comment after a Carlisle Crown Court jury watched a video-recorded police interview that he gave in 2015 about events which he said happened when he visited Paul Stuart Adams at his Banklands home.

The 74-year-old defendant denies 15 sexual offences, including allegations of repeatedly paying a teenager for sexual services.

The prosecution case is that Adams, a former teacher who was involved in local theatre work, sexually abused two teenage boys, one of them just 15 at the time when he was allegedly sexually assaulted.

The court heard that he took advantage of his two alleged victims after they turned to him for advice about acting.

But the allegations made by the third man did not lead to any criminal charges, the court heard. Police had interviewed him at length about those allegations, which date back to the 1990s, the jury heard. 

Now an adult, the man said he had been 16 when he visited Adams at his home and the defendant persuaded him to take part in a “game of trust.” Adams persuaded him to “remove an item of clothing” every time he asked him a question, said the man.

The man said Adams claimed this was a way of proving “how much he trusted” the defendant, at the time working as a teacher.

Defence barrister Richard Dawson quizzed the man about the claims he made in his 2015 police interview. The man said he had gone to Adams because he knew he was a teacher and wanted to ask his advice.

A relative had said that Adams, who ran his own home recording studio, would be a good person to seek advice from. He met Adams at his home three times, he confirmed.

As they discussed the then teenager’s business idea, said the man, Adams asked him if he trusted the person he planned to work with. “That’s when the game of trust started,” the man told the jury.”

The “game” involved removing an item of clothing after every question. Responding to a suggestion that his meeting with Adams happened when he was older, the man told Mr Dawson: “That’s absolute crap.”

Further challenged about his version of events, the man told the barrister: “You can go on but this story is not going to change. The facts are the facts.

“It’s not a story. It’s true. I would not be here if it wasn’t true. Do you think I would go through this? It’s the last thing in the world I want to go through.”

Mr Dawson said: “I am going to suggest to you that this didn’t happen as you describe.” The man retorted with: “I can tell you now: it’s accurate and as I described. If he denies it, he’s a liar.”

Mr Dawson said: “There wasn’t a ‘game of trust’’ You fabricated that account.” Again, the man replied: “How would I come up with a ‘game of trust?’ Seriously, I was 16-years-old.”

The barrister then asked the man why he had not told anyone. He replied: “Because I was ashamed.” He said he had not known why he had gone back to Adams’ home. The man said to Mr Dawson: “Has it ever happened to you? Try to tell somebody and they’d look at you as though you were weak.

“Try having it happen to you.” He said somebody he knew had said Adams would be the best person to go to for advice about his business idea.”

The first alleged victim had described Adams as a "master manipulator", whose main desire was "spanking." Police found evidence that the defendant's computer had been used to visit a spanking website.

Mr Dawson said that the pensioner had only ever sought to offer guidance and advice to the teenager. 

Six of the 15 charges faced by the defendant relate to two 'child' victims – either paying a child for sexual services – or indecent assaults on a child; and three of those five charges are specimen counts relating to multiple alleged incidents.

The remaining nine charges are sexual assaults. Adams is expected to begin giving his evidence next week.

The trial continues.