‘He changed my life. I live with the nightmares’
Retired Fr Daniel Duane, aged 73, was also in the witness box yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, where he denies indecently assaulting a female on a date between April and September 1980 at his house at the time in Belleview, Mallow. The defendant now resides at Cecilstown, Mallow, Co Cork.
James O’Mahony, for the defendant, put it to the accused: “She said in the summer of 1980 you indecently assaulted her.”
Duane replied: “I have no recollection of that meeting.”
Mr O’Mahony asked: “Did you put your hand up under her skirt and put your fingers in her vagina?”
The accused replied: “No.”
Prosecution barrister Donal McCarthy asked: “Are you saying you do not recall or are you saying this did not happen?”
Duane replied: “This did not happen.”
The complainant’s cross-examination also continued yesterday. Mr O’Mahony said to the complainant that she told the gardaí two years ago that the defendant put his finger into her and that now she was telling the jury it was his fingers, plural.
She replied: “No matter what way you try to twist it, at 14 he violated me, he put his fingers inside me, he changed my life. I live with those nightmares.”
Raising her voice she turned to the defendant and said: “Look what you have done to my life.”
She continued: “He was a priest. He was the same age as my father. This shame does not belong to me. The question you are asking me is did he put one finger or two fingers inside me. He violated me.”
The defence lawyer said: “You did not say [in statement to gardaí two years ago] that he said, ‘God would approve’. That is an embellishment you are adding today.”
She replied: “None of these were embellishments. You have no idea what it took to get to that station. No matter what way you try to turn it, he did this to me in his front room. He changed my life forever, no matter what way you want to turn or twist this. This was supposed to be a safe haven, this is where people went with their deepest secrets to talk to priests.”
Mr O’Mahony said: “Fr Duane denies that he indecently assaulted you, it did not happen that day.”
She replied: “It did happen. I wish it did not, then I would not have to be before the court. I would not have people trying to discredit me and throw everything at me. I would love if it did not happen but it did.”
It is anticipated that the jury will retire to deliberate on their verdict today.
