Photo: RNZ / Jordan Bond
The High Court trial of Earl William Opetaia, a former boxing coach and Child, Youth and Family-approved (CYF) carer, began today in Auckland.
Opetaia denies all 33 charges against him, including sexual violation, indecency against boys under 16, supply of cannabis and methamphetamine, and threatening to kill.
His lawyers say the claims are entirely made up in a bid by the complainants to get compensation.
Over a five-year period in the early to mid-2000s, Earl Opetaia ran an Auckland home for CYF.
CYF was a government agency and predecessor to Oranga Tamariki, the Ministry for Children.
More than 150 boys spent time in his care during this time, including Liam Ashley, a teenager who was murdered in the back of a prison van by George Charlie Baker in 2006.