Girl may have made ‘mistake’ when accusing grandmother of abuse

A girl has told the trial of three men and four women accused of sexually abusing three children that she may have made a mistake when she alleged her uncle’s partner and her grandmother were involved.

The 12-year-old gave evidence during cross-examination that she does not think the 32-year-old accused woman touched her privates.

She later said she might have made the same mistake regarding her grandmother, who when thinking back she did not remember doing anything.

The seven accused, who cannot be named for legal reasons, include the parents, grandmother and aunts and uncles of the three main child complainants.

The accused range in age from 27 to 57 and live in various locations in Munster and have all denied the charges against them. The Central Criminal Court heard that both parents are also accused of wilfully neglecting two of their younger children.

A woman (32), who is the partner of the children’s uncle (27), has pleaded not guilty to four counts including sexual assault and sexual exploitation at locations in Munster on unknown dates between August 18th, 2014 and April 28th, 2016.

The maternal grandmother (57) of the three child complainants has pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexually assaulting the girl by touching her genitals at locations in Munster on unknown dates between August 18th, 2014 and April 28th, 2016.

The girl gave evidence on Monday, via recordings of specialist garda interviews from August 2017 which were played before the court, that her parents and other members of her family had sexually abused her.

Photographs

During cross-examination via video-link on Tuesday, Seamus Clarke SC, defending the 32-year-old accused woman, said to the girl that she had told gardaí that his client and her partner had taken photos of her and her brother having sex.

Mr Clarke asked the girl if she might have made a mistake about his client being there. The girl replied yes and that she thought it was just his client’s partner.

Counsel said the girl had told gardaí his client had touched her privates and his client said she did not do that. The girl replied that she might have made a mistake on that.

The girl said she was now remembering it more and did not think the 32-year-old woman was “doing it”. The girl said she did not think the accused woman was “that much involved”.

Maria Brosnan BL, defending the girl’s grandmother, asked the girl if it was possible if she had made the same mistake about her client.

The girl replied yes, because she was now thinking back and could not actually remember her grandmother doing anything.

The girl told Conor Devally SC, defending her 27-year-old uncle, that in her second interview with gardaí she had papers on which she had written “all the things they did to me” so she could read it out. She said she wrote this between the first and second interviews and that she remembered writing it.

Medicine

The girl agreed with counsel that she remembered being given cough medicine or some “dose” of medicine as a family. She said it came in a tablet or in a bottle and would make everyone go to sleep quickly.

She said she was given that medicine “often”. She said either her mother or father would give her it, but it was mostly her father.

Mr Devally asked why she did not mention his client to gardaí in earlier meetings and only did so on the last occasion. The girl said she thought it had just slipped her mind previously. He told the girl that his client says he did not do any of the bad things she says happened to her.

Mark Nicholas SC, defending her father, told the girl that his client denies touching her private, putting his private in her private, sending photographs to her or messaging her telling her not to tell anyone.

The girl told Dean Kelly SC, defending her mother, that she went to live with her foster parents in April 2016. She agreed they were “kind people” and that she liked living with them from the start.

She said that a holiday she went on shortly after beginning to live with them was the first holiday she had ever been on. She said she remembered getting a tablet device the first Christmas she was with them and said it was from Santa.

Mr Kelly told the girl that his client says the things the girl described during her interview, such as her mother touching her and being present while others touched her, did not happen.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul McDermott and a jury.