Sports coach said he 'never heard' of some sexual abuse complainants
Isabel Hayes
A sports coach accused of sexually abusing four girls in the 70s and 80s told gardaí he had never heard of some of the complainants, his trial has heard.
The now 77-year-old man also told gardaí that two of the complainants were never in his house, a sergeant from the Sexual Crime Management Unit told the Central Criminal Court trial on Monday.
The sergeant told James Dwyer SC, prosecuting, that when the accused man was arrested, 79 charges were put to him, which took nearly one hour to read out.
The court heard the man responded to some of the charges. In relation to the first complainant, whom he is accused of indecently assaulting in various locations, including when she was babysitting his children, he said: “She was never in my house for a lot of this.”
In relation to the second complainant, who has also accused him of indecently assaulting her in his home, he said: “She was never in my house.”
The man is facing 41 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape of the third complainant. When the charges against him pertaining to this woman were read out, the man repeatedly said: “I never heard of her.”
“Unless I'm losing my mind, I never heard of her,” he said at one stage, also asking gardaí if the woman had changed her name.
In relation to the fourth complainant, the man also said he had never heard of her.
The man was originally charged with 79 counts, but pleaded guilty before the jury to five of them.
He is charged with 74 counts of sexually abusing four girls in the 1970s and 1980s. He has pleaded not guilty to a total of 73 counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in various locations in the State on dates between 1971 and 1981.
The counts he pleaded guilty to pertain to a further five counts of indecently assaulting one of these complainants – the first complainant - on dates between May and September 1976. He can’t be named for legal reasons.
The jury has heard that it is the prosecution’s case that the alleged abuse took the form of kissing, inappropriate touching, digital penetration, forced oral sex and – in relation to the third complainant – attempted rape.
The court was also brought through the dates the four woman made allegations, hearing that they each came forward to gardai on dates between 2021 and 2022.
The prosecution case has now closed and the jury was sent home until Tuesday afternoon.
The trial continues before Mr Justice Mícheál O'Higgins.
The man has pleaded not guilty to 29 counts of indecent assault in relation to the first complainant on dates between 1975 and 1977.
In relation to the second complainant, the man has denied two counts of indecently assaulting her on dates between 1975 and 1977.
In relation to the third complainant, the man has denied 41 counts of indecently assaulting her and one count of attempted rape on dates between 1971 and 1975.
He has pleaded not guilty to one count of indecently assaulting the fourth complainant on a date between 1980 and 1981.
If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the national 24-hour Rape Crisis Helpline at 1800-77 8888, access text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis Help. In the case of an emergency, always dial 999/112.
