Woman says younger brother 'learned to rape' her as a child

A woman who was allegedly sexually abused by seven of her family members has told a court her younger brother “learned to rape” her when he was a child.

The woman, who is deaf, was continuing to be cross-examined at the Central Criminal Court trial today. 

John Peart 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 F, has denied five counts – three counts of anal rape and two counts of raping his older sister on dates between 2007 and 2010.

Seven men, aged between 32 and 55, are on trial 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. 

Today, Mr Peart put it to the woman that she told the jury last November that her brother raped her on two occasions, when she was 17 and 18. The woman agreed that this meant her brother was aged 13 and 14 at the time of the alleged rapes.

“(He) learned how to rape me. (He) learned to rape me,” the woman signed to the court.

She agreed that she previously told the court that she told her brother she would tell his girlfriend if he raped her.

“Are you saying (your brother) had a girlfriend when he was 13?” Mr Peart asked, to which the woman replied: “Yes” and told the court the name of this girl.

Mr Peart submitted that the woman's brother says he never raped her, to which she replied: “I'm telling the truth.”

Finishing his cross-examination, Mr Peart asked the woman: “Are you saying a boy of 13 raped you when you were 17 and a half?”

“It's (his) fault,” the woman replied.

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

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.

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.

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.

A third 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.