Father denies abuse of son as trial nears end

The trial of a man accused of the "systematic sexual abuse" of his son has reached its closing stages.

The 52-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 11 charges of anal rape; 12 charges of oral rape; 24 charges of sexual assault and one charge of the wilful neglect or ill-treatment of the boy on dates between April 11, 2001 and June 23, 2004.

The offences are alleged to have occurred while the child was aged between 12 and 15 years old.

The jury have heard closing speeches from prosecution counsel, Ms Delia Flynn SC, and defence counsel, Mr David Goldberg SC, and will retire to consider their verdict tomorrow following a charge by Mr Justice Barry White.

Earlier during cross examination by Ms Flynn the accused denied all allegations of sexual abuse.

“I never sexually assaulted my son in any manner, never touched him other then giving him a hug or a kiss”, the man said.

He denied Ms Flynn’s suggestion of “systematic sexual abuse” of the boy and replied: “Nothing sexual ever happened between my son and myself.”

The trial continue before Mr Justice White and a jury of seven men and five women.