Cork rape trial hears accused was 'in shock' at Garda questions about their sex life
The accused man faces a total of 59 charges, including two counts of raping his then-partner, “numerous counts of sexually assaulting her”, and cruelty to her three children. File photo
A 56-year-old Cork man accused of raping his then-partner refused to answer questions about his sex life with her saying it was personal and said: “I am in shock by you asking.”
This reply was one of the replies recorded in memos of interviews that gardaí had with him about allegations of raping and sexually assaulting his then-partner.
The accused man was questioned about his life with the complainant before they separated. “How often would you have had sexual relations?” He replied, “I am not going to answer that. I would consider that a personal question.”
Asked “would you describe your relationship as a warm, loving one?” he replied: “Yes and no.” Details of his ex-partner’s allegations of rape and sexual assault were put to him. “I deny all these complaints. This is not the first time accusations and false allegations have been levelled at me,” the accused said when interviewed by local gardaí.
He said that the complainant made the allegations when she was looking for a safety order or a barring order in court but she did not continue with it and the application was withdrawn.
When details of one of the rape complaints were put to him, he replied: “As I said already I completely deny these complaints of (name). This did not happen. I especially deny it. It is a shock she is even saying this today.”
One of the gardaí presented a photograph to the defendant, allegedly showing bruising to his ex-partner. Asked about this, the defendant said: “I have nothing to say to it. I did not do that. I never did anything wrong to (ex-partner’s name).”
Details of a second alleged rape were put to him, including the allegation that she jumped out of the bed saying: “What the f*** are you doing to me?” He replied: “I deny this complaint occurred. This never occurred. I deny this completely.”
Asked why his ex-partner would make up such an allegation if it wasn’t true, he replied: “She has made false allegations against me in the past – this is not the first time. She said she made the allegations out of frustration with me.”
In the course of the garda interviews, he was asked about allegations of cruelty by instances including making her children do large amounts of work cleaning and tidying. On this issue, he said: “I did the bulk of it – the housework. It had to be done. It was not going to do itself.
"All I asked them was to bring down their washing, sort them and put them away. They never did anything. They wouldn’t do it.” He denied ever calling his ex-partner’s eldest daughter any names.
The allegation was put to him that he would not let the children go to the bathroom unless they got his permission and he said: “That is fully false.”
Asked about locking doors in the house, he said that he was very security-conscious, and even more so following the disappearance of Madeline McCann. “It was one of my biggest fears – a child going missing,” he said.
The trial continues at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork before Mr Justice Michael McGrath and a jury of five women and seven men. The accused man faces a total of 59 charges, including two counts of raping his then-partner, “numerous counts of sexually assaulting her”, and cruelty to her three children. The defendant is also charged with sexually assaulting his partner’s son. The accused man has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.
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