An Illawarra teacher accused of sexually abusing a student has told a jury his friends nicknamed him after a paedophile teacher from a Sydney Catholic school as a "crude joke". Subscribe now for unlimited access . Login or signup to continue reading Giving evidence on the fourth day of his Wollongong District Court trial on Thursday, Keith William Eshman said a friend set him a "silly nickname" in a Facebook group chat as "Brother Martin's prodigy".
"He was a science teacher at our high school," Eshman, 37, told the jury when asked to explain what it meant. "He was found to be charged with child sexual abuse to students at our school. That's what that name refers to.
"It was a stupid, crude joke." Eshman, a one-time Wests Tigers player and former army medic, has pleaded not guilty to two counts of sexually touching a child under 10 and three counts of sexual intercourse with a child under 10. In an opening address on Monday , Crown prosecutor Nerissa Keay said Eshman allegedly touched the complainant's vagina several times, and that he grabbed her hand and placed it on his crotch.
Staff reported Eshman to police after the complainant's parents told the school , before the child made further disclosures about the extent of the alleged abuse which occurred in the "secret corner" of a classroom. The court heard the young girl told her mother Eshman also allegedly inserted his fingers into her vagina and that he performed oral sex on her. Eshman repeatedly denied the allegations .
