Broadcaster found guilty of abuse

The founder and owner of Radio Dublin, the longest-running pirate radio station in Ireland, has been found guilty in the Central Criminal Court of sexually assaulting four girls in his home.

Eamonn "Captain" Cooke (66), with addresses at Heatherview Avenue, Tallaght and Wheatfields Court, Clondalkin, will be sentenced later by Mr Justice John Quirke who said he "hadn't the slightest doubt that the verdicts brought in are the correct verdicts".

Mr Justice Quirke remanded Cooke in custody for mention of the case on February 12 next when a sentence date may be set.

The jury took just under two hours to return unanimous guilty verdicts on 32 charges of the 33 before them and a further 40 minutes to find him guilty of the final charge.

Cooke was convicted on one charge each of attempted unlawful carnal knowledge and attempted rape of two girls, and a further 31 charges of indecent assault involving them and two other girls, on dates from May 1974 to January 1989.

All of the girls were under 15 years of age at the time and some were as young as six years old when the abuse began.

The jury of nine men and three women delivered its verdicts after a 15 day trial.

The court had heard Cooke's house had been a 'free-for-all' for all the young children in the neighbourhood.

Children would play in his garage, which was very big in size, and the sexual abuse only began as a very gradual process. At first he vowed them with electronic gadgets such as cameras, televisions and telephones.

He then rented out videos and sat each of the girls on his lap. He would put a rug over both himself and the girl and put his hands inside her underwear.

Cooke gradually began to invite the girls to his bedroom and make them get into his bed. Two of the girls were friends and he would put them both in his bed together with him, naked. He would fondle both at the same time, as well make them perform oral sex on him and vice versa.

He would give them money and sweets, mostly money which amounted to two pence, five pence and 10 pence coins. He would also play the two friends against each other, asking each of them to come individually to his house when the other was not there.

The girls said they had been unaware at the time of what was happening or that it was wrong. As the abuse had begun gradually, and they had been made to feel comfortable around him, they did not complain, and would accept the money and sweets he gave them.

The other two complainants are sisters but told the jury they did not go to Cooke's house at the same time. The younger sister went first when she met Cooke's son but stopped soon after her sister started visiting the house as she had become afraid of the man.

The younger sister said Cooke would rub her thighs while she was sitting on his lap in the driving seat of his car after allowing her to "drive" the car. She would have her hands on the steering wheel while he worked the pedals.

The woman said she did not notice Cooke rubbing her legs at first as she was exciting about "driving " the car but he then began to apply more pressure.

The older sister said Cooke took her to the Savoy cinema with a group of other children and began kissing her in the cinema. They were taken outside by an usherette after another customer had reported wrongdoings.

She said she told the usherette that Cooke was her uncle and said he had been furious and had gotten in an argument with the woman.

The court heard Cooke sent flowers, a card and a ring on Valentine's Day to one of the girls after she had stopped coming to his house.

He also kerb-crawled beside another complainant as she walked along the street and lingered around a shop where she worked until she threatened him with a knife. He then came back with a young girl whom he made stare out the complainant and also sent her into the shop.

A man who worked with Cooke in Radio Dublin told the jury the majority of the staff left the station when they heard of the abuse.

He said he learned a 10-year-old girl had said she was abused by Cooke who had threatened to show her mother photographs of her in his bedroom if she did not return to the room.

The girl was afraid that, although she was fully clothed in the photos, her mother would be angry that she had been in Cooke's bedroom.

A tape was made of the girl's accusations and was given to the girl's mother through a priest.

The man said although the tape did not give any graphic details of abuse, it showed Cooke had manipulated the girl by threatening to show photos of her to her mother.

He was convinced of the truth of the accusations after hearing the tape and called a meeting of the staff when Cooke was on holidays. He told them about the accusations and said he was going to start a new station and they could join him if they wished.

The witness said 34 out of the 35 staff joined him at the new station. Before they left the station, which was in Cooke's house, they ransacked the place and sabotaged the radio transmitter. They found more pictures of children in Cooke's bedroom.

In his defence, Cooke said the two sisters were supporting each other and the girl who had made the tape had asked her friend to back up the allegations.

He said the man who had worked with him in the radio station had wanted to blacken his name and ruin his career while he was set up a new radio station.