Father tells Waterford rape trial he saw defendant kissing his daughter 'in way that did not look proper'

Man told court his daughter 'idolised' and was 'infatuated' with the defendant, who is accused of 53 sexual offences — including more than 20 counts of rape

On the opening day of the trial, the jury was told of allegations the defendant had abused the woman at multiple locations between the summer of 1999 and March 2005, from when she was nine years old to 15 years old.

The father of a woman who claims she was abused as a child by a neighbour told the Central Criminal Court sitting in Waterford he confronted that neighbour after he saw him kissing his daughter in a way that did not “look proper”.

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

On the opening day of the trial, the jury was told of allegations the defendant had abused the woman at multiple locations between the summer of 1999 and March 2005, from when she was nine years old to 15 years old.

On Wednesday, the woman’s father told the trial the accused man’s wife was a relative of his. He and his wife had no concerns about the complainant and her sister going to their house for sleepovers as a result of the connection.

“Sometimes you blame yourself for taking the eye off the ball,” he said. He said the complainant was involved in a community group, with which the accused was also involved.

On a day in either 2001 or 2002, he was waiting for his daughter to come home from an event linked to the group. He saw the accused drive up outside the house with the complainant.

“He [the defendant] leaned over when [the complainant] was getting out, and he kissed her. I was shocked,” he said. “The way he kissed her did not look proper to me.” 

He also recalled a party of a relative of the accused, which he said his daughter had been invited to and which he had taken her to. None of the other girls who were members of the same community group as the complainant and the defendant attended the party, which concerned him.

He said his daughter “idolised” and was “infatuated” with the accused.

A sister of the complainant recalled an incident in the family home sometime in the early 2000s when she heard a “commotion at the front door”.

She said the accused man was standing in the hallway of their home and was “visibly very, very upset”. He kept saying he was sorry, she said.

She told the court she had been asked to “remove” the complainant into the kitchen.

She said she did not know what the incident was about.

Earlier, another sister told the court she and the complainant regularly visited the neighbour’s house and stayed for sleepovers, mainly at weekends.

However, she said she gave up going across to the house after some time, but the complainant continued to visit.

She recalled: “It was a fun household. They had video games, they had a lot of old videos and board games.” 

She said she and the complainant had a very close relationship, which "broke down” in later years.

She said the complainant never discussed the abuse allegations with her.

Earlier on Wednesday, cross-examination of the complainant continued by defence counsel Aidan Doyle, in relation to references in counselling notes of claims she had made about different incidents of abuse involving people other than the accused.

She said she had no recollection of one incident referenced in the counselling notes of a sexual assault involving a man and a woman on her. 

She also did not recall an incident mentioned in the notes where it was claimed an attack on her had been videoed. The woman said she suffered two mental breakdowns and had also been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder.