Woman says brother-in-law raped her twice a week for four years

A Galway woman who alleges she was repeatedly raped by her sister's husband has said he would lock her in a room for hours with…

A Galway woman who alleges she was repeatedly raped by her sister's husband has said he would lock her in a room for hours with a bucket as a toilet. The woman has testified that she was raped up to twice a week for four years.

The man (49) has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 14 charges of rape between June 12th, 1983, and June 30th, 1986. He cannot be named for legal reasons.

The trial has already heard that the woman was 15 when she was sent to live with the couple. She says her brother-in-law raped her within a few weeks of her moving in.

Under cross-examination on day two of the trial yesterday, she told Isobel Kennedy SC that he would beat her before locking her in her room. She said he would take the handle from inside the door and he would throw a bucket into her to use as a toilet.

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She denied Ms Kennedy's suggestion that this was a product of her imagination. She agreed that she was angry about having to go to live with her sister and her brother-in-law because she had wanted to live with another relative.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and a jury.