Sex assault complainant ‘vindictive’ says accused

A man who denies sexually assaulting his niece at a This is Your Life celebration at Páirc Uí Chaoimh was accused by the prosecution yesterday of a character assassination of the complainant, by calling her malicious, vindictive and a liar.

The trial of Christopher McCarthy, aged 50, of 11 Glendalough Park, The Lough, Cork, on five counts of indecently assaulting his niece Tanya Walsh on various occasions between 1978 and 1989 when she was aged approximately four to 15 years, will go into its fifth day on Monday when Judge David Riordan will send the jury out to deliberate.

Yesterday McCarthy was cross-examined by prosecution barrister Pearse Sreenan, who said the defendant had effectively accused his niece of taking retribution against the McCarthy family, and of vindictiveness. “You are effectively saying she is a liar,” Mr Sreenan said at Cork Circuit Criminal Court. McCarthy replied: “Oh she is a liar. I am 100% convinced she is lying.”