Child sexual abuse trial of mother, uncle and family friend continues
The woman alleges she was raped by her uncle on several occasions, including one incident of oral rape. She also says she was sexually assaulted by her mother multiple times and orally raped by a family friend.
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The complainant's mother, her uncle, and another man face a total of 21 counts of sexual assault and rape, which allegedly occurred on dates between 2000 and 2014, mainly at the family home within the State.
The three defendants cannot be named for legal reasons. They deny wrongdoing and have pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The complainant's maternal uncle, who is in his 40s, has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one of oral rape on dates between 2003 and 2012, all at the same family home
In direct evidence, she said she was about five-and-a-half when her uncle first raped her in his bedroom. She said her mother left the room, returning with her uncle who then raped her. She said her mother then brought her to their bedroom.
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Cross-examining the complainant on Tuesday, Michael Lynn SC, representing her uncle, said his client's position is that 'none of these allegations ever occurred' and 'this is something you've imagined'.
'I didn't imagine it,' she replied.
'He's adamant none of this ever happened,' Mr Lynn continued.
'It did happen,' she replied.
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The complainant also said she had blocked out memories, but they started to come back. She said she wasn't able to deal with them and went to the Rape Crisis Centre for counselling in mid-2019.
She agreed with Mr Lynn that a counselling note from 2016 states that memories were flooding back and she was unsure if they were real or not.
Mr Lynn suggested that this may still be the case – that her memories are not real. 'They are,' the complainant replied.
The complainant told Mr Lynn that she could not remember what she was wearing that day or if her uncle said anything to her. She agreed with Mr Lynn that she didn't question what had happened.
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She also gave direct evidence that her uncle orally raped her in his bedroom on another occasion. She told Mr Lynn that she believed she was eight at the time, but accepted that this was a feeling and she could not tie it to any event.
She also accepted that she did not make any allegations of a sexual nature when she spoke to gardai in 2015 about a separate matter. The complainant said she was frightened at that time and had been encouraged not to trust gardai.
Mr Lynn took the complainant through a letter she wrote in 2019. She said she didn't remember writing it, but accepted she had.
He noted this letter states the complainant knew she had been abused by her mother and other males, but could not remember any details about them.
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Mr Lynn suggested that this was inconsistent with her evidence that her memories of abuse by her uncle started to return in late 2018.
She said she was 'struggling' with memories, and that it was 'bad enough with what [her mother] had done, remembering what [her uncle] had done was equally difficult to deal with'.
She said at the time she wrote this letter, she was trying to 'deal with what was going on' and started attending counselling afterwards. She said 'things became easier to process and much clearer'.
Mr Lynn also asked the complainant about counselling records referring to two female family friends. Earlier in the trial, she said she moved in with them when she was 17, and lived with them again during the second Covid-19 lockdown, before cutting off contact.
Mr Lynn put to her that it was not credible that she could not explain why things had turned 'toxic' between her and these two female family friends. She said she could not explain how things had turned out as they had.
Referring to her counselling records, Mr Lynn asked her if these female family friends 'imposed false memories' on her. The complainant said they told her she had done things she hadn't, and insisted that any references to false memories were about her relationship with these two women.
The witness said in her direct evidence that she saw her mother and uncle engage in sex with each other while she was present in a room when she was around six.
On Monday, counsel for her mother, Desmond Dockery SC, suggested to the complainant it was implausible if it happened that she would have known what was going on.
Mr Lynn put it to the complainant on Tuesday that she had previously said she was four when she saw this. 'Okay, I made a mistake,' she replied.
The complainant was also cross-examined by Damien Colgan SC, representing the second man.
This man, aged in his 50s, has pleaded not guilty to one count of oral rape between 2008 and 2009 at the same address. The jury has heard he was a friend of the accused woman's then partner.
In her direct evidence, the complainant said when she was 13, that he came into a the room where she was playing on a PlayStation, then locked the door.
She said this man orally raped her, during which he told her 'Your mother knows'. She said she left the room afterwards and didn't tell anyone what had happened.
Mr Colgan put it to her that she told gardai that she was 11 when this allegedly happened. She said she was mistaken, got confused and thought she was older than she was.
She agreed with Mr Colgan this was a 'big mistake' to make, adding 'he still raped me'.
Mr Colgan asked the complainant if she told her mother or her mother's partner about the alleged oral rape by this man. She said she didn't tell anyone.
She said the man continued to visit the house and that she didn't remember any similar incidents occurring before or after this.
The complainant's mother, who is in her 50s, has pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of sexual assault on dates between 2000 and 2009, and between 2012 and 2014, primarily at the family home.
She also pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, in that she facilitated the rape of the complainant by her uncle.
The trial at the Central Criminal Court continues.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at
1800 77 8888
, access text service and webchat options at
drcc.ie/services/helpline
or visit
Rape Crisis Help
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