Corkman claims ex accused him of rape and child cruelty 'to stop me seeing my children'

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: Dan Linehan

The man accused of raping and sexually assaulting his ex-partner and her son as well as cruelty to her children claimed on Thursday that she made the allegations in order to stop him from seeing the children they had together.

“She has done everything in her power to stop me seeing my children through bringing rape and sexual assault charges and getting (her son) to make complaints.

“The minute anything is going well with the children and the file at Tusla is closed, she will make sure it is opened up again,” the accused man said.

His senior counsel Tom Creed asked the defendant: “How did that make you feel?” He replied: “I was going through hell because my kids are my life – it’s as simple as that.

The trial is approaching the end of the second week 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 and one count of raping him. The accused man has pleaded not guilty to all charges against him.

In the witness box for the first time, he said on Thursday: “There was a linen basket in every room. The girls’ rooms were like a pigsty,” he said. Mr Creed said: “And that would irritate you?” He replied: “It did.” He said that when he told his then-partner’s children to keep their rooms tidy she told them they were not his kids and not to tell them what to do.

“The suggestion is that I would throw everything out on the floor – cups, saucers, pots and pans - and go down to their bedrooms and pull the clothes on the floor, I am disgusted at what they have done and what they have said over the years,” he said.

His partner’s son alleged that when he came home from sports training on a particular night of the week, the defendant sexually assaulted him in the shower three times. 

He responded to these allegations, saying: “Never was in the shower with (boy’s name). Never saw him shower. Never went into the bathroom on any occasion with (name). I never showered any of my kids.” He added that he was never home on the night referred to because he played sport himself that night.

There was an allegation that he touched one daughter’s food despite the fact that she would not eat food that anyone touched. He said he knew she was finicky about food but he never touched her food.

He said he did not pull out the contents of the presses in the kitchen or the bedroom wardrobes for his partner’s children to tidy up and put away again.

In relation to evidence that he used to tear up one daughter’s homework, he said: “That is complete lies.” Mr Creed put it to the accused that his ex-partner alleged that throughout 2015 “that for 52 weeks of the year you sexually assaulted her by groping her chest and inserting your fingers in her vagina.” 

He replied, “That is completely untrue. It never happened.” He also denied raping her on two occasions.

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