Man accused of raping young girl staying at his home

A 57-year-old man has gone on trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court today accused of sexually assaulting a young girl staying at his home.

The man, who can not be named for legal reasons, pleaded not guilty to 12 counts of sexually assaulting the girl at locations in Co Waterford on dates between March 1991 and September 1995.

The complainant told Ms Fiona Murphy BL, prosecuting, that she started staying at the accused man’s house on holidays when she was around seven years old. She said she stopped visiting before she went to secondary school.

She said she had cause to be alone with the accused man when she went with him to feed animals he had in sheds. She said there were two sheds in the top corner of a field.

She said in one of the sheds the accused man would unzip his pants, take out his penis and ask her to hold it. She said he used her hand to reach climax.

The witness said he would sometimes unzip her pants and put his hand on her private parts.

She said she told the accused she did not like it and he told her that everybody did it and she should not tell anyone because no one would believe her.

She told Ms Murphy that sometimes in the second shed he would unzip his pants and get her to masturbate him. She said he also touched her intimately.

The witness said she went with the accused to feed the animals “maybe three or four times per week” while she was there. She said the incidents would occur each time she went to the sheds with him.

She said on another occasion when she was about eight or nine years old she was on a tractor with the accused when he sat her on his lap with his penis between her legs touching her vagina.

She told Ms Murphy about a further alleged incident on the day of her First Holy Communion.

She said she and the accused went into a field where he lifted up her communion dress and put his hand down her knickers. She said after he had ejaculated he gave her money and told her not to tell anyone.

The trial continues before Judge Yvonne Murphy and a jury of one woman and 11 men.