Deaf woman allegedly sexually abused by seven family members 'angry' at brother's denials

A woman who was allegedly sexually abused by seven of her family members has told a court she is “so angry” after hearing one of her brothers told gardai he never had sex with her.

The woman, who is deaf, signed “I am so angry” and left the room where she was being cross-examined via videolink at the Central Criminal Court trial, this Tuesday, February 10, 2026.

Roderick O'Hanlon SC, defending, was cross-examining the woman in relation to her allegations against his client, her 32-year-old brother.

This man, referred to as Accused E, 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.

Mr O'Hanlon put it to the woman that when her brother was interviewed by gardai in relation to the allegations against him, he at first said he had no recollection of the allegations.

“He's in trouble,” the woman replied.

Mr O'Hanlon put it to the woman that her brother was then “able to tell gardai he never had sex with (her) on any occasion, at any time.”

“I am so angry,” the woman replied, before standing up and leaving the videolink room.

Seven men, aged between 32 and 55, are on trial in the Central Criminal Court in relation to a combined total of 103 charges against them – of which 98 counts pertain to the main complainant. They are her four younger brothers and three uncles.

They are accused of sexually abusing her at various stages over a 17-year period between 1996 and 2013 and deny any wrongdoing. None of the parties involved can be named for legal reasons.

The woman is giving 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 interpreter 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, with the court hearing  she has challenges communicating timelines in terms of calendars and sequence. 

When the trial resumed after a short break, Mr O'Hanlon put to the woman that it was unlikely that Accused E, then aged nine, would have travelled to the family home to commit the offences against her.

The court has heard evidence that Accused E was living with other family members during part of the period when he is alleged to have sexually abused her.

“It's (his) fault,” the complainant said.

The intermediary told the court that she did not believe the complainant fully understood the question and a break was taken to work through the questions.

After the break, Mr O'Hanlon again submitted to the woman that her brother would not have committed offences against her when he wasn't living in the same home and when the home was full of family members and would not have been empty as the woman has asserted.

The woman told the jury her brother was “telling lies” and she was telling the truth.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Biggs and an extended jury panel of 14 jurors.

Read previous report on the trial here.

< Charges >

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. He has denied the charge.

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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.

Another three 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.

Another 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.

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

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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.