Woman raped by her uncle, jury hears

A Dublin woman told a Central Criminal Court jury she was raped on numerous occasions by her uncle while she was living in his house.

The accused man has pleaded not guilty to eleven counts of rape and five counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of his niece on dates between January and October 1990 when she was aged 14 and 15.

The alleged victim told prosecuting counsel, Mr Micheal Counihan SC (with Ms Orla Crowe BL) her uncle would come into the bedroom at nighttime between 1 and 3am.

He would take off her clothes and his underpants and hold down her arms with his hand. He would cover her mouth with his other hand and then have sexual intercourse with her. When he was finished, he would fondle her breasts and genital area.

She said it was always very painful when he had sexual intercourse with her, "like something was cutting inside me" and that she never consented to what was happening.

The woman said she was terrified of the man as he had told her he would kill her if she ever let anyone know what happened. This was the only thing he ever said to her about what he had done and would just walk out of the room after he was finished.

The alleged victim went to the gardai in November 1990 and made an official complaint. However, she went back in December with her mother and said she did not want to go ahead with the investigation.

Mr Counihan earlier told the jury in his opening statement that the investigation was subsequently renewed in 1998 by the alleged victim.

The trial continues before Mr Justice John Quirke.