Cork man accused of sex assault on girlfriend's 10-year-old daughter

A jury has been sworn in to hear the case against a man accused of sexually exploiting and sexually assaulting his then girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter.

The accused, who is aged in his mid-30s, pleaded not guilty to two charges on the indictment against him at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, namely sexually assaulting the girl and sexually exploiting her.

Siobhán Lankford, prosecuting, gave the four women and eight men sworn in to hear the case an outline of the anticipated evidence but stressed that the outline would not itself be evidence.

Ms Lankford said both charges arose out of the one alleged incident at a house in Co Cork on November 10, 2013.

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in a relationship for about a month before this incident with a woman who had two daughters. On the date in question they had all slept in various parts of the living room and not in the upstairs bedrooms because the heating was not working.

Ms Lankford said that at about 7am on November 10, 2013, the mother went upstairs for a shower.

Her 10-year-old daughter came up to her crying some time afterwards.

“She [the child] told her certain things. She [the mother] noticed she [the child] had liquid on her hand, it was gluey or sticky.

“She [the mother] spoke with the defendant and made a phone call to the guards. [The mother] put a plastic bag on the child’s hand. Certain things were said to the guards. Evidence was taken, a swab was analysed, and it was semen on the swab. A DNA profile was carried out and forensic evidence established the DNA matched the defendant’s profile.”

As the case was about to go into evidence, Judge David Riordan sent the jury away until today. “There are certain legal matters that are going to take some time,” the judge told them.

At the outset of the case Ms Lankford indicated that the trial was likely to take three days.

Ms Lankford told the jury that they should approach the case as dispassionately as possible.

She said this was true in all cases but particularly so in cases of this kind where one might be inclined to feel extremely sorry for the child or for the defendant because he was being accused of such a serious thing.

No details were given yesterday of the nature of the alleged sexual assault or sexual exploitation.

Ms Lankford explained, in general terms, that a sexual assault was an unwanted touching of a person in a sexual area, for instance a man grabbing a woman’s breast.

She said sexual exploitation was inviting, inducing, or coercing a child to engage in any sexual or obscene act, or inviting, inducing, or coercing a child to witness a sexual, indecent or obscene act so as to deprave the child.

The trial resumes today at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Jury sworn in as accused pleads not guilty to two charges against him