Boy alleged sexual assault after perianal genital warts diagnosed

A four-year-old boy told his mother that a teenager sexually assaulted him after medics diagnosed the child as having perianal genital warts.

A man, now aged 20, went on trial at Ennis Circuit Court on Tuesday charged with in 2014 sexually assaulting the boy, who was aged between three and four. The accused denies the charge.

Patrick McGrath SC, prosecuting, told the jury they would hear evidence from the now nine-year-old complainant via video link due to his young age. His allegation of being sexually assaulted is part of a recorded interview, he said.

Mr McGrath said the accused has a presumption of innocence and is entitled to test the evidence. Therefore, the child will be available to be cross-examined via video link from another room at the courthouse after the jury has watched the recording, he said.

“In this case, two specialist Garda interviewers interviewed him in a Garda station in a special suite set aside for the purpose of interviewing young or vulnerable complainants or witnesses outside the court.”

He told the jury that after the boy was diagnosed with perianal genital warts in hospital in April 2015, he told his mother on the way home that a teenage boy had committed a sex act on him.

Mr McGrath told the jury that they will hear details of the conversation between the boy and his mother during the trial.

His father initially became concerned having noticed that his son was upset after going to the toilet. The father spotted blood staining on a tissue after helping the child in the bathroom.

Mr McGrath said the boy then made an allegation about the accused to his father. Counsel said that in due course after the initial diagnosis in hospital, the boy was brought to a sexual assault unit for a further examination.

The accused, who was 16 at the time, was arrested in May 2015 on suspicion of committing anal rape.

Mr McGrath stated that the accused was interviewed on a number of occasions at a garda station and he “denied having ever done anything of this kind to the boy”.

The trial continues.