Two brothers alleged that they were both sexually abused by a former scout leader during babysitting at their home and, for one of the siblings, at his scout group. The man, 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, between the ages of around 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. READ MORE: 'Large amount' of images of young boys found on ex scout leader's devices, court told “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.