Accused man said abuse claims were ‘all made up’
Waterford Courthouse.
The trial of a man accused of committing rape and sexual assault against a child is nearing a close.
On Thursday, April 16, a jury of five women and seven men heard the closing arguments from prosecutor Garnet Orange SC and defence barrister Aidan Doyle.
The proceedings are being held in-camera at Waterford Central Criminal Court before Judge Patrick McGrath.
The jury heard witness testimony from a former teacher of the complainant. The now retired teacher raised concerns with the complainant’s parents over 20 years ago, but was met with a cold response.
The defendant did not give evidence on the stand but the jury heard from the memos of Gardaí interviews after his arrest in 2022.
In the interviews, the accused man repeatedly denied all accusations of rape and sexual assault. He told Gardaí of a ‘rumour’ he had heard about the complainant being abused by her grandfather.
He said: “If she was abused by someone else, it was not me.”
He told Gardaí that the complainant was a "very troubled young girl".
He stated: “I didn’t do any of that, it never happened. It’s all made up, that’s it. What else can I say?”
He claimed that he had no spare beds available in his home so the complainant would have been sleeping on a couch, not a single bed as she had described.
“That girl has some imagination,” he said.
He denied being sexually attracted to children when asked by the investigating Detective Garda.
He did admit to kissing the complainant on the night of his daughter’s Christening but later apologised to her.
Earlier on in the day, they heard witness testimony from a former guidance counsellor who taught the complainant over 20 years ago.
The counsellor, now retired, told the court that she had taught the complainant during her second and third year at school. The counsellor said she had ‘copious notes’ from her sessions with the complainant. The counsellor first spoke to the complainant, then in her early teens, over "concerns regarding a possible eating disorder". She went to visit the complainant’s home over these concerns and spoke with her mother.
The counsellor later became concerned over the complainant’s frequent interactions with a ‘neighbour’.
She said: “After a period of counselling she told me that sexual things were happening.”
The counsellor informed the parents of the complainant, in accordance with the child safety procedures of the time. She went to the family home for a second time to share her concerns, stating that the proper authorities would need to be contacted.
She said: “I told her father that either he had to do it or I would. He said he would do it.”
She told the court that she "expected a different response" from the family. Mr Orange asked her what she meant by that. She said: “I would expect from a parent a much more alarmed response."
The jury have been sent out to deliberate.
