Ireland: Woman Rejects Claims Her Evidence Against Brother Is “Untrue” in Family Abuse Trial

Ireland: A woman who alleges she was sexually abused by seven male relatives has rejected claims by defence counsel that her evidence against one of her brothers is “hard to believe” and untrue.

During cross-examination at the Central Criminal Court on Thursday, senior counsel Karl Finnegan SC, representing one of the accused — referred to as Accused C — put it to the complainant that she had given inconsistent accounts to gardaí and to the jury regarding the alleged abuse by her younger brother. The woman firmly denied this, stating that her accounts were consistent.

Accused C, the complainant’s 34-year-old brother, has pleaded not guilty to 45 charges relating to her allegations, including 22 counts of rape and 23 counts of anal rape, allegedly committed over a 12-year period between 2001 and 2013. He also faces separate charges of sexual abuse involving two of his younger sisters, which he also denies.

Mr Finnegan suggested that the complainant had “told one story to gardaí” and a “different story to the jury” concerning Accused C’s alleged actions. When asked whether she agreed with this characterisation, the woman replied: “They’re the same stories.”

The defence further asserted that her testimony during examination by the prosecution late last year differed from the evidence she gave this week. Again, the complainant rejected the claim.

Mr Finnegan then put it directly to her that her evidence against Accused C was “hard to believe because it is not the truth.” The complainant responded: “You’re wrong.”

Earlier in the trial, the court heard that the woman told gardaí she had been raped by Accused C when she was seven years old. Defence counsel suggested this could not have occurred because Accused C would have been only four years old at the time.

The complainant, who is deaf, is giving her evidence via video link with the assistance of two interpreters — an Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter and a deaf relay interpreter — as well as an intermediary with expertise in linguistics. Two interpreter-monitoring teams are also present in court to ensure accuracy. The court has been told the woman experiences difficulties communicating timelines and sequencing events using conventional calendar references. Charts and symbols are being used to support her testimony.

Seven men, aged between 32 and 55, are currently on trial before Ms Justice Biggs and an expanded jury of 14. The case involves a total of 103 charges, 98 of which relate to the main complainant. The accused are the woman’s four younger brothers and three uncles. All have pleaded not guilty and deny any wrongdoing. None of the parties can be identified for legal reasons.

Among the accused, Accused A — a 55-year-old uncle — denies a single charge of rape alleged to have occurred between December 2009 and April 2011. Accused B, another uncle aged 48, has denied eight charges, including rape, oral rape and anal rape, allegedly committed between December 2008 and December 2010.

Three other brothers also face multiple charges. Accused D (33) has pleaded not guilty to 22 charges, including 19 counts of rape and three of anal rape, alleged to have taken place between 2002 and 2013. Accused E (32) has denied 16 charges — nine counts of anal rape and seven counts of rape — allegedly committed between 2003 and 2011. Accused F (32) has denied five charges, comprising three counts of anal rape and two of rape, said to have occurred between 2007 and 2010.

A third uncle, Accused G (45), has denied a single charge of rape alleged to have occurred between 1996 and 1997.

In addition to the charges involving the main complainant, Accused C faces further allegations involving two younger sisters. These include one count of sexual assault against Complainant 2 between 2005 and 2006 when she was a child, as well as two counts of rape and one of anal rape alleged to have occurred between 2016 and 2019. He also denies a charge of anal rape involving a third sister, Complainant 3, allegedly committed between 2013 and 2014.

The trial is ongoing.