A mother alleging that a youth group leader kissed her son and pushed his tongue into the boy’s mouth told Magistrates’ Court she was convinced her son’s account was truthful.

“He probably still has more he could tell me,” the woman added.

For legal reasons, neither the accused nor the boy can be named.

The court has heard that on January 19, the boy — who is below the age of 13 — ended up watching TV on a bed with the accused while attending the youth group.

According to the young complainant, he grew uncomfortable and “shocked” when he was then kissed on the cheek, neck, ear, and then side and front of his mouth, during which the accused inserted his tongue into his mouth.

The matter was reported to police, and the boy interviewed.

In a separate and later interview he alleged he’d also been kissed on the cheek and neck about a week earlier, at a secluded outdoor spot.

In court yesterday, the prosecution played a recording made by the boy’s mother when she and a male companion confronted the accused, saying the child was badly upset and “violated” by the encounter.

On the recording, the accused could be heard admitting to kissing the boy “on the side of his face and on his mouth” — but defending it as a gesture of affection.

However, on the recording he also said: “I apologise — I crossed a line.”

Taking the stand for a second day, the complainant’s mother was asked if she could be sure her son’s account had been accurate and truthful.

She said she’d trained her son to know when something was inappropriate, and to feel comfortable in reporting it to her.

“I thought, under the circumstances, he might be reluctant to share everything,” she said. “So I had concerns that he didn’t quite let me know the whole thing.”

Asked if she knew why her son would have referred to “rape” during an interview by police, and whether he understood the word, she replied: “We live in a society that’s very sick. So I’m sure he knows what the word ‘rape’ means.”

The woman agreed that kisses and hugs could be friendly, but would not accept that her son might have been mistaken or fabricating the story.

“I can’t be sure, but I can use my discernment, and weigh the evidence, and come to a likely and logical conclusion,” she said before Magistrate Khamisi Tokunbo.

She denied being hysterical after her son told her what had happened, but said she was “confused and trying to keep my wits about me” when she went to confront the accused, with whom she had previously enjoyed a friendly and trusting relationship.

And she added that she’d tried to get counselling for her son in the wake of the incident — but the court proceedings prevented the boy from speaking “thoroughly” about what had happened.

The court then heard the recording of her conversation with the accused, with a male companion.

On the tape, the accused said: “I did kiss him on the side of his face, and on the mouth. That’s true.”

The man accompanying the boy’s mother than asked: “Why would you kiss him on the face or the side of his mouth?”

“Because I cared about him,” the accused replied.

“As far as kissing him on his face — to me that’s unacceptable,” the man said. “Why would you do that to a little boy?”

The accused responded: “It’s not what you think, okay?” to which the man said: “No, it is what I think.”

“Because I loved him,” the accused said. “You’re asking for an answer, and I’m giving you an answer.”

Telling the woman and her friend that he appreciated them airing their concerns, the accused maintained that he’d never intended to upset the boy.

The woman later said: “This is where he starts to get confused and starts to get upset ... this is a little boy thinking, ‘This is something my mother told me about’.”

She added: “I hate to say this, but I had to believe him. He’s my son, and I trained him and I know that he is acting on my training. I need to respect what he’s trained to do.”

The accused later responded: “Honest to God, I did not sense that this upset the boy in any way” and apologised because he “crossed a line”.

He said his behaviour may have been seemed inappropriate but insisted he had no inappropriate motive, telling the woman: “He looks up to me. I wouldn’t want to destroy that.”

Telling the accused that his actions were “indicative of something that could have went somewhere else”, the woman said it was her responsibility to look into the matter.

“It breaks my heart to even think that it could have gone somewhere else.”

She added: “This is something that is really, really, honestly — it’s not just the kiss on the cheek. It’s not the kiss on the mouth. The tongue issue — he felt the wetness from your tongue.”

The woman continued: “Honestly, it’s a heavy burden. I don’t know what to do with this information, because you’re responsible for a lot of children.”

Asked by her male companion if anything inappropriate had happened before, the accused said he had been once falsely rumoured to be gay, adding that it was incorrect.

If it were true, he asked why he would run a youth group “in Bermuda, of all places”.

“I’ve loved children all my life and I’ve worked with children all my life.”

Later in the recording the accused said he wished to congratulate the boy because “you shared your mind”, to which the man accompanying the boy’s mother responded: “He felt violated.”

“I hear what you’re saying,” the accused said, “and the second thing I would like to say is to apologise to him for making him feel violated. Even though I told you that was not my intention, the damage is done.”

The case continues in January.