Cork girl alleges sex assault by mum’s boyfriend
A jury of eight men and four women was sworn in yesterday to hear the case against the man accused of sexually exploiting and sexually assaulting his then girlfriend’s 10-year-old daughter. The accused, who is in his mid-30s, pleaded not guilty to the two charges on the indictment against him at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.
Siobhán Lankford, prosecuting, gave the jury an outline of the anticipated evidence and said both charges arose out of the one alleged incident at a house in Co Cork on November 10, 2013. The complainant is now 13.
The defendant was in a relationship with a woman who had two daughters. The heating was not working on the relevant date so they had all slept in various parts of the living room and not in the upstairs bedrooms.
Ms Lankford said that, at about 7am on November 10, 2013, the mother went upstairs for a shower. Her 10-year-old came up to her crying some time afterwards.
“She showed her mother her hand. Her mother noticed a sticky or gluey substance,” said Ms Lankford. “She [the mother] touched it. She was concerned. She called the guards. She found a nappy bag and put it over the child’s hand.”
She said evidence was taken, a swab was analysed, and it was discovered that was semen on the swab. A DNA profile was carried out and forensic evidence established the DNA matched the defendant’s profile.
Ms Lankford told the jury that they should approach the case as dispassionately as possible. She said that 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.
The complainant’s direct evidence was video-recorded and played to the jury. In this interview, she said the accused lay down behind her, rubbed her back, grabbed her hand, and made her rub “his private”. She said he put his penis against her bum and she could feel something sticky on her hand.
Cross-examining the child, Blaise O’Carroll, defending, said she was changing her account from referring to her right hand to referring to her left hand.
Mr O’Carroll said: “You are shifting ground because your story does not make sense. You know the whole scenario you are painting is completely untrue, it is just a made up story… What the jury is concerned about is whether we are dealing with a real experience or something made up.”
The complainant replied by video link to the court: “It is real, he was touching my bum with his private.”
Mr O’Carrroll said the defendant said he never went near her on the morning, that it never happened. She replied: “If it did not happen why would I be here?”
Mr O’Carroll said: “If you made up a story that would explain why you are here.”
The trial continues on Monday.
