Man found guilty of six counts of sexually assaulting seven-year-old child in Wicklow
The Wicklow PeopleA man has been found guilty on six counts of sexual assault that were alleged to have taken place in Co Wicklow during the 1980s.
The accusations stemmed from one victim who gave testimony on the opening day of the trial at Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court last week.
On the first day of the trial, the complainant told the court that the defendant had lived with her family in County Wicklow during the 1980s and helped with farm work. She alleged that the abuse began when she was seven years old, describing several occasions when the defendant came into her bedroom at night and touched her inappropriately. She said that he threatened her not to tell anyone and that similar incidents took place while her younger sister was asleep beside her.
The complainant also recalled an incident on a couch involving inappropriate contact and said the behaviour occurred on six occasions in total before the defendant suddenly left the home.
The trial concluded on Monday, November 3, with further evidence from two gardaí who investigated the case and a former partner of the victim. The final witness was the defendant’s mother.
On the second day of testimony, Thursday, October 30, the first witness, the victim’s former boyfriend and father of her children, told the court that on a date unknown, while driving through Co Wicklow, the victim told him she had been molested. He said she did not elaborate on details and that this was all he knew.
The second witness, the original investigating garda, who has since transferred to another jurisdiction, told the court that he took a formal statement from the victim in 2018. The defendant was nominated as the main suspect and was arrested and charged in 2019. He informed the court of the people he interviewed and the statements he took during his investigation.
Giollaiosa Ó Lideadha SC, counsel for the defence, questioned whether the garda had interviewed the victim’s stepfather. The garda told the court that he had spoken to him and that the stepfather said the victim had told him about the incident years earlier, but that she said she had been five years old at the time.
Mr Ó Lideadha asked the garda about a part of the statement where the victim said she had been seven years old, as she remembered her younger sister being hung out a window while the defendant was living at the home.
The garda told the court that it is not his job to coach victims through their statements, but simply to take the statement as given.
The final witness for the prosecution, the garda who took over the case, told the court about the details of the arrest and how the case progressed to trial.
On the final day of testimony, Friday, October 31, the defendant’s elderly mother took the stand. She was questioned by James Kelly SC for the prosecution.
She told the court that the defendant worked four days each week with livestock and often needed help with the “whipping”. She confirmed that she was aware he never stayed on weekends and certainly never babysat.
She said she had no experience in farming herself, but that the defendant had been involved in farm work for a couple of years before returning to the family home when a family member became ill.
Addressing defence counsel, she said she currently lives at the victim’s stepfather’s farm, where she has resided since the 1980s. She stated she was aware that gardaí never left a letter requesting her to attend for interview.
She also told the court that her former partner had once helped the defendant to get a job and that at that time he had been living in another part of the property.
The witness said that the a male member of the victim’s mother’s family had also lived in the house for a time and that they had a live-in babysitter to help with the children. She described him as being in his sixties and said there was no prejudice against him.
Mr Kelly put it to the witness that the suggestion the man had lived in the house and looked after the children was false. The witness replied that it would have taken “Superman to keep up with small children”. She added: “Never mind a 13-year-old boy”.
Following her evidence, the court heard closing arguments before the judge instructed the jury that each count must be considered separately and that indecent assault involves touching for sexual gratification and without consent. He added that the accused was entitled not to give evidence and that this should not be held against him.
The jury began deliberations at 3pm on Friday and returned at 6:45 pm. Mr Ó Lideadha expressed concern that, given it was Halloween night, the jury might have been in a rush to reach a decision.
The matter was adjourned to Monday, November 3, when Judge Quinn instructed the jury that they did not need to reach a unanimous decision, only a majority verdict.
After one hour of deliberations, the defendant was found guilty on all six counts.
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