Rape and indecent assault charges against elderly Limerick man reduced from 40 to 11 

The man is accused of indecently assaulting his neighbour between 1972 and 1973 when she was between the ages of 13 and 16 and raping her between 1975 and 1976

The woman gave evidence in Limerick court last week claiming the accused had raped her once in the kitchen of her home following an argument she had with his mother when she was 15 years old. File picture

Closing arguments in the case of a 75-year-old Limerick man accused of the rape and indecent assault of a teenager 50 years ago, have heard the charges against him have been reduced to 11.

Initially, the father of three was charged with 40 counts of sexual assault and one count of rape.

However, following legal argument, the court was told on Wednesday morning the indictments have been decreased to 10 indecent assault charges and one rape charge.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is accused of indecently assaulting his neighbour on dates unknown between 1972 and 1973 when she was between the ages of 13 and 16 years and one count of vaginal rape on a date unknown between 1975 and 1976. 

The accused is 10 years older than the complainant. He has denied all charges.

At the time, his mother was working for the complainant’s father who sought her assistance to cook meals for his children and clean their home when his “difficult” marriage broke down and his wife left the family home. The complainant told the court the accused started coming to her home from the age of 12.

The woman gave evidence in Limerick court last week claiming the accused had raped her once in the kitchen of her home following an argument she had with his mother when she was 15 years old.

She also alleged on other occasions from the age of 13 years he sexually abused her many times, by putting his hands down her trousers and “dry humping” her and “grinding” against her, as well as rubbing her private parts with his fingers and groping her breasts. 

She said she was terrified of him, and he mocked and jeered her about her body a number of times, and that is when the alleged abuse began.

The court was told the accused was arrested and questioned under caution on May 9, 2022, and also attended Henry Street garda station on a different date to voluntarily answer questions.

Defence closing arguments

In his closing arguments, Mark Nicholas SC for the accused said the jury in the 50-year-old case could not rely on evidence given the passage of time adding: “All you have to rely on, is her (the complainant's) evidence."

He told the jury of seven men and five women this is “not unusual but something to be conscious of” when it came to having no supporting evidence. The complainant’s parents are now deceased and so are those of the accused as well as neighbours, and could not be questioned.

He told the jury if the case was reported in a timely manner there would be records, as well as people in the area, and that clothes could be taken for examination to help to bolster the account of the person.

He told the jury: “Just because you don’t have that evidence doesn’t mean you can’t reach a verdict. “You don’t have the comfort of all these other strands to support the weight of the verdict.

“You have to be extra careful and stress test that evidence in relation to these accounts,” he said. 

The court heard that the complainant made a statement to gardaí in November 2021 and had spoken to her siblings about the allegations prior to that and had not told anyone about her concerns before 2016.

Mr Nicholas SC said challenges in the case included “memory suddenly coming back” and that this was “all a matter of worry when you consider the high standard” in the case.

He said: “The delay here — I don’t want to be dramatic — but it is enormous, it’s not unusual, but it is a feature” in the case.

“You may have a situation where you have an overbearing father or uncle or a family dynamic” where someone is “controlling things for years afterwards — that is not the situation here. These families hadn’t met each other after the 70s”, he said.

“Fading memories make it harder to grapple with the allegations made against you,” he said.

Testimony of complainant's sister

The complainant’s sister gave evidence in court on Tuesday where she described her family home as one of fear and claimed the accused was constantly groping or trying to grab her on the stairs or in the hallway.

In her evidence, she claimed there was an incident at the family home with the accused that left her deeply upset. 

“It was an evening in the summertime, he was on the swing, and he invited me to join him to sit on the swing in our back garden in the home,” she said.

“I sat on his lap, it didn’t feel good, he was imitating the sexual act. Even though it wasn’t penetration, I got uncomfortable and said I am getting off now, I jumped off.” She said she felt “sickened” by it before he “kicked me up the arse” as she walked away.

She said she could feel his “erect penis rubbing off my buttocks and I became uncomfortable and decided to jump off” during the alleged incident. The witness agreed that she never spoke about the incident to anyone.

The case is continuing before Justice Eileen Creedon.