Chris Dawson confirms sexual relationship with minor, denies timing
Blizard said Dawson’s twin brother, Paul, was also a gym teacher at a nearby high school and also arranged for a student – who was in the ninth grade – to babysit their children.
She said Dawson, his brother and the two girls spend a lot of time together in the car and at the beach, and the girls attend fitness classes at Lindfield taught by the Dawson brothers. Blizard said these classes took place in 1980 and 1981.
“It is alleged that at these classes, one brother taught the class while the other was behind closed doors with one of the girls,” Blizard said.
The prosecutor said the “central issue in this trial will be the timing and beginning of events.”
In testimony Tuesday, the woman said she met Dawson when a topless photo of her was “passed around the school” and the teacher “got his hands on it and brought it back to me” and said : “There you go, I just found that”.
She said she remembered spending time with Dawson at Lindfield while his brother was teaching and then returning to the class when it was his turn to teach.
“If one twin was in charge of a class, the other would be in the back with the student who was theirs at the time,” she said.
The woman said there was once an incident in Lindfield where all four swam naked in the pool before each brother brought a girl to the other end to allegedly engage in sexual activity.
She said by August or September 1980 she began babysitting for Dawson every weekend, staying in a guest room and seeing him at a pub on Friday nights in addition to the Lindfield classes.
“I never saw my friends,” the woman said. “The time I spent with him just got out of control.”
Dawson’s attorney, Public Defender Claire Wasley, said there was no dispute that her client had a sexual relationship with the girl when he was a teacher and she was an under-18 student.
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“It is disputed that the first instance of [alleged sexual connection] “Occurred while the applicant was studying in the defendant’s athletic coaching class in 1980,” she said.
Wasley said if those key facts could not be established – that the alleged activity took place between July 1 and December 12, 1980 – her client should be found not guilty.
She said other things, including the assessment that Dawson had a “lack of morals” and his conviction for the murder of his wife “didn’t affect” the carnal sex case.
“I trust your Honor will not be satisfied when the Crown has established Mr. Dawson’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Wasley said.
The process goes on.
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