Two brothers alleged that they were both sexually abused by a former scout leader during babysitting at their home and, in the case of one of them, at his scout group.
The older of the siblings gave evidence on the third day of the trial at Lewes Crown Court, recalling specific occasions of the alleged abuse by Ian Silvester, 60, when they were between the ages of nine and 11.
During a police interview in 2019, he recalled one alleged incident in the late 1980s when a group was taken to the scout hall for a “life saving exercise” by Silvester, of Locks Hill in Portslade, who was scout leader at the time.
The group was told to take trunks and a swimming towel, which the man remembered thinking was “odd”.
The man reported being taken into a storage room with one other boy, where they were subjected to “jungle treatment” in only their swimming trunks.
He said: “He would have us lie on the floor. He would then lie on top of us with his upper torso between our legs.
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“Probably with his chin on our stomach. He would bang his fists on our chests or run his fingers down our stomachs.
He described it as seeming like “special treatment” and being a “regular occurrence”. He also said that while Silvester allegedly did it to the boys, he also asked the boys to do it to each other.
The man also said that during one summer after that Silvester would babysit for him and his younger brother, who also gave evidence in court, at their home where sexual abuse allegedly continued.
He said: “He spent a lot of time looking after us. I was still involved in the jungle treatment but it shifted very much to my brother.
“My brother became very interested in the first aid. We used to spend a lot of time with Ian doing first aid demonstrations and learning first aid as well.
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“It changed from jungle treatment to more of the first aid training. The story changed from the jungle book to learning about the body.”
The man also described having a close relationship with Silvester.
He said: “He was a very important person to me. He was a person I would look up to and someone who I thought treated me particularly specially.
“I hero-worshipped him. I never viewed anything he was doing as being bad at the time.”
Another man also gave evidence accusing Silvester of similar sexual abuse while he was being babysat by him.
The man, who was also part of Silvester’s scout group at the age of around 8, recalled being tickled while lying on his back or front in speedos by Silvester in the front room of his home.
He also reported ice cubes being used on his chest, back and stomach.
A total of 19 men have accused Silvester of sexual abuse over a period of around 30 years.
He has denied all 83 charges.
The trial continues.
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