Woman tells trial of sexual abuse by brother

A woman has told the trial of seven men accused of familial abuse that her brother sexually abused her on numerous occasions.

The woman, who is deaf, is continuing her evidence today at the Central Criminal Court trial in relation to one of her brothers, to be referred to in reporting as Accused C. She has already given evidence in relation to three uncles who she alleges sexually abused her.

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.

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

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

Accused C is also accused of four counts of sexually abusing another sister and of anally raping a third sister. He denies any wrongdoing.

The woman is giving her evidence via video-link and through two interpreters – an Irish Sign Language (ISL) interpreter and a deaf relay – as well as an intermediary who is a linguistics expert. There are also two monitoring teams present in court to ensure the woman is being interpreted correctly.

Charts and symbols are also being used to assist the woman to communicate. The court has heard she has challenges communicating timelines in terms of calendars and sequence.

The woman told Gerardine Small SC, prosecuting, that her brother put his dick into her bum near a lake.

When asked if she wanted her brother to do this, the woman replied “I said no”. She said she was frozen.

Ms Small asked the woman to look at a chart and point to her age when this incident allegedly occurred. The court was told the woman had pointed to 15-years-old.

The ISL interpreter said the woman had also signed 15. 

The woman said this happened in the summer and she went home afterwards. She said a female cousin was there too.

She also gave evidence about another incident in which she said her brother put his dick into ass. She said “I had a little bit of bleed out of my ass”.

She said she was “not okay” with her brother doing this. She said she was 15 at the time.

She said a female cousin was there. She said her brother told the cousin not to tell the police. She said “I was silent. I felt trapped”.

Later, she said her brother “was panicked” and that her cousin “saw”.

When asked what her cousin saw her brother do, the woman replied her cousin was talking fast. “I was looking at them but I didn’t know what they were saying”.

She also described another incident in which she said her brother put his dick into her vagina.

“I had said I’d have enough sex,” the woman, said with her hand pointing as a stop gesture.

She said she tried to run away and when asked why, replied: “it was that close to rape”.

Ms Small asked the woman what she meant by “close to rape”. She said her brother put his dick in her vagina.

She was asked if she wanted her brother to do this.  “I told him what are you doing and he said 'don’t tell my girlfriend'”.

She said it was “not okay”.

The woman indicated 21 on the chart when asked what age she was when this occurred. She said it happened “over and over again”.

Earlier, the woman gave evidence that her brother put his finger in her vagina. She said it happened in the garden in the summer about 30 times. She said she told him no.

When asked what age she was when this happened, she indicated by pointing to a chart that she was 13, 17 and 18.

Ms Small asked the woman how she felt emotionally when her brother put his finger into her vagina. She replied: “it’s difficult to express what I felt inside. It's hard to express”.

When asked if it was okay or not okay for him to have done this, she said: “not okay. You’re my brother. He didn’t care.”

She said her brother put his finger in her vagina at another location as well.  She said she felt uncomfortable and told him no.

The trial, which is set down for four months, continues before an extended panel of 15 jurors and presided over by Ms Justice Caroline Biggs.

Accused A – the woman's 55-year-old uncle - is accused of a single count of raping her on a date between December 2009 and April 2011.

Accused B (48) – another uncle - is accused of eight counts comprising rape, oral rape and anal rape of the complainant on dates between December 2008 and December 2010. He has denied the charges.

Four of her younger brothers are also 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 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.

Another uncle, Accused G (45), has denied a single count of raping her on a date between 1996 and 1997.

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.