Teacher on trial for alleged unlawful carnal knowledge

A former teacher at a north Dublin girls school has gone on trial accused of two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge of a transition year student in the grounds of the school five years ago.

The 48-year-old man pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two counts of unlawful carnal knowledge against the then 16-year-old girl at the school on dates in March 2002.

Mr Vincent Heneghan BL, prosecuting, told the jury that this was not a case of sexual assault or rape but that it was illegal to have sex with a girl under the age of 17, regardless of the circumstances.

The now 22-year-old woman told Mr Heneghan that the man had been her teacher for several subjects while she was a student in the school.

She said he had "a very friendly relationship" with her group of friends and they would often gather in his class room in an informal manner to talk or work on projects and that they exchanged text messages.

She said that the man had asked her out to lunch while she was on work experience and had kissed her on this occasion and mentioned that he thought they were "more then friends".

She told Mr Heneghan that their first full sexual contact was on the occasion of a school musical when they separated from the main group to seek parts for her broken mobile phone.

She said that she remained in contact with her teacher and later that month went alone to meet him in his class room. She said he told her he was worried about what had happened and did not think it should happen again.

She said they had intercourse again following that conversation. She said that although he asked her if she was "OK" she thought at the time that "he did not seem too concerned about how I was feeling."

She said they stayed in touch for the rest of the school year but he did not contact her during the summer holidays. She said when they returned to school the following September he told her that it would be very serious for him if others knew what had happened and she should not tell anyone.

The woman denied a suggestion by defence counsel Mr Feargal Kavanagh SC (with Mr Ronan Kennedy BL) that she had researched statutory rape on the internet but said: "I was aware what we were doing was very wrong".

She agreed with Mr Kavanagh that she thought she was in love with him and that the sex she claims to have had with him was consensual.

She denied being upset that her teacher had not taken up her advances saying: "He took up my advances in the most serious way possible."

She denied that "rumours" had been spreading in the school regarding her relationship with the man and said she had only discussed it with a close group of friends. She said she told her friends that the man had asked her to say she had made the relationship up to help him legally.

The trial, which is expected to last five days, continues before Judge Frank O'Donnell and a jury of eight men and four women.