The father raised the five boys on his own for 10 years. Photo - 123rf
WARNING: This article discusses violence towards children and may be upsetting to some readers.
A father accused of a decade of abusing his sons has claimed he single-handedly raised his children with care and dedication, despite facing immense challenges and a lack of social welfare support.
William Cohen, 69, has been on trial in the Whangārei District Court on 38 charges of alleged abuse of his sons between 1988 and 1999.
The men came forward around 2015 and reported multiple alleged instances including one incident in which Cohen allegedly lined the children up execution style and threatened to kill them, just like the Aramoana Massacres.
The sons have given evidence over the last two weeks with accounts of abuse they allege to have personally gone through, physically and psychologically.
One son said he received most of the abuse because he looked like their mother who was no longer in the family picture.
“There wasn’t a day that went by that I wouldn’t get a hiding.”
On Thursday, Cohen testified as his defence lawyer, Arthur Fairley, presented their case to the jury.
Fairley said there were two lines of defence.
“Yeah, the incident happened, but not the way my boy said it happened’ and ‘no, that didn’t happen’.”
Cohen said the marriage to the boy’s mother dissolved in the early 80s and by 1987, he had all the children in his care and gave up his business to look after them.
“My children were bouncing off the walls, it was like herding cats,” he said on their return from a visit to their mother one day.
Cohen said the children’s mother and grandparents did not want anything to do with them and when Fairley said there was a suggestion he alienated the children from the mother he responded: “That’s totally wrong.”
For the next 10 years, the family moved around multiple properties in Fielding, Palmerston North and Te Kōpuru and the boys spent periods in foster care.
Cohen admitted in a police interview he could not cope with raising the boys and felt he got no assistance from social welfare at the time.
“I was seeking at least some financial injection to assist us in our day-to-day as I was having to shoot rabbits to supplement the larder and getting gifts from others.
“I was appreciative of what I was given, men being men, independence between friendships can wear pretty thin,” Cohen told the court.
Cohen said he clothed all the children on his own, brought them presents, and would take them for Sunday beach walks and swimming at the local pools.
A key moment in time referred to in the trial, to which five of the charges relate, is “The Aramoana incident” - an allegation Cohen lined his children up and said he was going to do the same to them, but would only need one bullet.
The Aramoana massacre, where 13 people lost their lives, had occurred the day before.
He allegedly told them to keep their heads still before leaving the room to get a rifle and returning saying: “I’m going to f****** do it! Say goodbye to each other!”.
A lawyer who worked for the family gave evidence that around this time Cohen requested she come to the house to retrieve a bolt from a gun.
Cohen agreed that she had come to the house and became tearful in his response.
“I was feeling unsafe to myself and I wanted to guard against my children,” Cohen said tearfully.
But when asked whether the execution allegation happened he said: “That’s a construct, it’s not true, I can’t understand that,” he told the court.
Assaults with the jug chord have been given in detail by the sons throughout the trial but Cohen could only recall using the jug chord twice.
Once, he said he jokingly tapped the chord on a son’s hand, and another time when a child got in the way.
“I had the jug chord in my hand and went to swipe the cardboard box to get it out of their hand and one of the children got a blow to his legs and I apologised and said ‘Dad’s sorry’ and ‘I didn’t mean to do that’ and got some ice to cool it.”
Counsel will close their case to the jury and Judge Taryn Bayley on Monday.
The prisoner was there for 'medical oversight'.