Woman told trial of seven men accused of familial sexual abuse she was raped by her uncle

Eimear Dodd

A woman has told the trial of seven men accused of familial sexual abuse that she was raped by her uncle.

The woman who is deaf told the Central Criminal Court trial of the men on Wednesday that she was raped by her uncle when she was in her early 20s.

This man (55), to be referred to in reporting as Accused A, is accused of a single count of raping her on a date between December 2009 and April 2011.

Seven men, who are aged between 32 and 55, are accused of a total of 98 counts of sexually abusing her at various stages over a 17-year period between 1996 and 2013. They are her three uncles and four brothers.

One of the woman's brothers is also accused of four counts of sexually abusing another sister and of anally raping a third sister.

The men deny all the charges against them. None of the parties involved can be named for legal reasons.

The woman is being assisted to give her evidence by two interpreters – an Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter and a deaf relay – and an intermediary who is a linguistics expert, the court heard.

The woman told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that this alleged incident happened in Accused A's apartment. She said she panicked and ran downstairs.

When asked why she panicked, the woman said 'the r word', later clarifying she meant rape.

Ms Small asked the woman to explain what she meant by rape. She replied “sex”, then said “vagina”.

The woman told the jury that her uncle's penis was in her vagina. Ms Small asked her if she wanted her uncle to put his penis in her vagina. She replied: “I said: 'No, don’t do that, f*ck off'”.

When asked if she said anything to him, the woman replied: “What are you doing?”.

She said it was “very painful” and “without a condom”. She also said her vagina was painful due to bleeding.

The woman said she and her uncle had been drinking. She said she had four WKD Blues, then fell asleep. She said she panicked when she woke up, then ran downstairs.

The trial, which is expected to last four months, continues before an extended panel of 15 jurors.

Accused B (48), another uncle, is accused of eight counts involving rape, oral rape, and anal rape on dates between December 2008 and December 2010.

Four of her younger brothers are accused of sexually abusing her over varying periods of time.

Accused C (34) is accused of 45 counts – 22 of rape and 23 counts of anally raping her over a 12 year period between 2001 and 2013.

Accused C is further charged with the sexual abuse of two of his younger sisters. He is charged with one count of sexual assault in relation to one sister, Complainant 2, on a date between 2005 and 2006 when she was a child. He is also charged with two counts of rape and one of anal rape of this woman on dates between 2016 and 2019.

He is also charged with one count of anally raping a third sister, Complainant 3, on dates between 2013 and 2014.

Accused D (33) is accused of 22 counts of sexually abusing his sister over an 11-year period on dates between 2002 and 2013. He has pleaded not guilty to 19 charges of rape and three counts of anal rape.

Accused E (32), is accused of 16 counts of sexual abuse against his sister over an eight-year period between 2003 and 2011. He has denied nine counts of anal rape and seven counts of raping her.

The fourth brother, Accused F (also 32), has denied five counts – three counts of anal rape and two counts of raping his sister on dates between 2007 and 2010.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help.