Waterford father faced sexual abuse charges at trial

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The father faced charges of sexual exploitation, child cruelty, anal rape and sexual assault at the Central Criminal Court, reported on 26 April 2016. The charges related to alleged abuse in Waterford between 2007 and 2011, and the parents pleaded not guilty.

During the trial, the boy’s foster mother gave evidence about allegations that his father sexually abused him in the shower and with a hot poker, and urinated and defecated on him. The trial continued before Mr Justice Robert Eagar and a jury.