Rape trial hears woman has 'clear recollection' of her mother and uncle having sex when she was a child

Claire Henry

A woman has told a jury that she has a “clear recollection” of her mother and uncle having sex when she was a child.

Her 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 a location in the West of Ireland.

The three accused all have addresses in the west of the country. They can't be named for legal reasons.

The man has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one of oral rape on dates between 2003 and 2012, all at the same address in the west of Ireland. The court has heard he is the complainant's maternal uncle.

One of the allegations made towards the woman's uncle is that when she was 11 years old, he had sexual intercourse with her. Michael Bowman SC, defending the uncle, asked the woman if she knew how she ended up in the room or if the incident occurred during the school term or during school holidays, but the woman said she did not know.

Defence counsel asked the woman if she had asked to move in with her uncle at a point in the past, to which she replied, “I could have, but I don’t actually .”

Mr Bowman suggested: "You did, and he said under no circumstance,” to which the woman replied, “That’s not true.”

Mr Bowman said: “Can I suggest that your uncle, who you viewed as your protector, he was moving on. There was no one to protect you from the viciousness, the drinking and the nastiness in the house”, to which she replied, “I could have”.

Defence counsel put it to the woman, “You have a memory of when you were four years old of your mum and uncle having sex”? To which she replied, “Yes”.

Mr Bowman asked if she had a clear recollection of this, and she said, “Yes, as I explained, they started, and I don’t think I was supposed to be there, and she told him to stop”.

The woman agreed that she had written a letter to herself in 2019, which outlined that her mother had abused her. It also said, “I know there were others who were male, but I don’t know who”. The woman said: “I was struggling at the time, I the incidents with my mother and incidents with men. It certainly wasn’t as clear as it is now.”

Defence counsel outlined that his client does not accept that there was any sexual with her at all, to which she replied: “There was.”

A second man 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.

Damien Colgan SC, defending this man, put it to the woman that she has made one allegation against his client, to which she agreed.

He repeated her earlier evidence that she had been at home playing the PlayStation when his client entered the room. The woman could not say what month, date, or day of the week this incident occurred, only that she was 11 years old.

He asked the woman if no alarm bells started ringing when the man got up and locked the door, to which she said: “No”. He then asked her how long had the man’s penis been in her mouth, and she answered: “I don’t know.”

Mr Colgan told the woman that his client denied this allegation to the gardai. “I don’t know what he said to them,” she replied.

The woman agreed with counsel that she only mentioned this incident once to the Rape Crisis Centre.

The third defendant in the trial, the complainant's mother, has pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of sexual assault and not guilty to one count of rape.

It is alleged that the mother sexually assaulted the girl on nine occasions between 2000 and 2009 at the family home, on one occasion between 2012 and 2014 and on three occasions during a family holiday in 2001.

The trial continues before Justice Melanie Greally and a jury.