A former teacher at one of Perth's most prestigious girls schools has denied under oath sexually abusing five students in the 1980s including two who allege he took their virginity.
Jay Walsh, 75, has been on trial in the District Court for the past week accused of abusing the five complainants when he was the drama teacher at Penrhos College.
Prosecutors allege the abuse happened at various locations including on school grounds, in motel rooms, in car parks and in a flat or apartment that it is claimed he either owned or rented.
Two of the women have testified the abuse happened after he took them, as drama students, under his wing and mentored them — both admitted in their evidence they "definitely had a crush on him".
Today, Mr Walsh denied all the allegations against him saying that at the time of most of the alleged abuse he was in a live-in relationship with a woman.
He denied ever owning or renting an apartment or flat in the Victoria Park, Como or South Perth areas and maintained he had never taken a student to a motel room.
He also denied abusing some of the females during rehearsals for school productions, telling the court there would probably 30 or more other students around as well as crew and musicians.
Mr Walsh described remembering one of the complainants as a "very elegant, intelligent young woman" with whom he was very impressed, but he insisted his relationship with her was no more than he had with any other student.
He did recall that on her last day of school, the same student came to the drama shed, with another girl, and they unbuttoned their uniforms and exposed their breasts, but he said he did not report it because he "accepted it as a prank".
He also said the same two students gave him a puppy after the dog he had for 15 years died.
The court has heard the allegations against Mr Walsh came to light in 2018 after the then principal of Penrhos sent an email to the school community in response to the Royal Commission into Institutional Child Sexual Abuse.
He was charged in 2020 after one of the women made a formal complaint to police.
