Woman tells Waterford court she cannot recall some past abuse statements

The woman, who alleges she was repeatedly raped as a child, told the court she could not recall some of the statements she previously made to gardaí about abuse by multiple men, including her father

The defendant, who is in his 50s, is accused of 53 sexual offences — including more than 20 counts of rape. He pleaded not guilty on all counts.

A woman who alleges she was repeatedly raped as a child told the Central Criminal Court sitting in Waterford she could not recall some of the statements she previously made to gardaí about abuse by multiple men, including her father.

The jury heard that, in one account relating to an alleged rape later in life, the woman told a counsellor a gun had been placed in her mouth.

In another statement, she alleged she was raped as a child in a disabled toilet at a restaurant near Kilkenny Castle.

The woman also claimed she became pregnant as a child as a result of being raped by the accused, but she later suffered a miscarriage.

She has alleged the defendant abused her over a six‑year period.

The defendant, who is in his 50s, is accused of 53 sexual offences — including more than 20 counts of rape. He pleaded not guilty on all counts when the trial opened at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Waterford on Monday. 

The charges related to a period between the summer of 1999 and March 19, 2005, beginning a few months before the girl’s 10th birthday.

On the second day of the trial, the woman was questioned extensively about statements she allegedly made during welfare interviews conducted between 2012 and 2020, in which she reported being raped or sexually assaulted. The interviews were recorded by social workers, hospital staff, and a psychologist.

The jury heard the woman had described being subjected to “brutal” rapes by the accused, as well as by her father and other men.

Statements attributed to the woman as recently as 2020 were read out in court, but she told the jury she had no recollection of making them or of allegations they contained about anyone other than the defendant. 

She said this was due to the severe trauma she had experienced and because she had suffered two mental breakdowns.

Addressing the woman at Waterford Courthouse, Aidan Doyle, defending, said the woman had told various people helping her in 2012 and 2013 that when she was a child she had allegedly been raped “by multiple people”.

In one statement, made in May 2012, she allegedly told a social worker she was “sexually abused” by her father and by the defendant.

In another statement, she is alleged to have indicated she was the victim of “an organised ring of perpetrators”.

The woman said she had no recollection of making the statements.

Mr Doyle repeatedly pressed her on this, and said her statements amounted to statements that “your father and other people acting in concert against you and people are trying to silence you”.

He also told her: “You have said you were attacked by multiple people in 2012, an aggressive rape. You have told at least two people that your father abused you.”

“I have no recollection,” she said. “I may have said things but I can’t speak to something I can’t recall. I was extremely unwell. I can only say what I remember.”

Mr Doyle asked if she was “making it up”.

She replied: “Absolutely not. If they [counsellors] are saying it. It may be true to them at the time.

“I was very unwell. I did have a mental breakdown. I was very traumatised by what [the defendant] did to me as a child.”

The case continues.