Former choir master accused of raping and impregnating child

A 55-year-old Dublin woman is in the High Court today suing a former choir master who she claims repeatedly raped her as a child making her pregnant at the age of 15.

The woman began to cry as she told a jury that the abuse began in 1970 when she was 13.

She said it began in 1970 when he offered her a lift home from mass but first stopped off at his offices at Eden Quay where he took her upstairs, locked the door and raped her.

She said it ended when at 15 she became pregnant by her abuser who laughed when she told him.

The court also heard that the girl's mother believed she had appendicitis when at the age of 15 she gave birth to a baby girl, whom she called Edel.

She got to hold the baby once before giving her up for adoption, and has never seen her again.

The 55-year-old mother is now suing for damages, with psychiatric evidence before a jury that she has suffered post-traumatic stress disorder and felt ashamed of the abuse, "like it was a dirty secret".

Her alleged abuser has chosen not to defend the case.