Woman tells jury she was sexually assaulted by younger brother

A woman has outlined how she was sexually abused by a younger brother as the Central Criminal Court trial of seven men accused of familial abuse continues.

The woman, who is deaf, is continuing her evidence at the Criminal Courts of Justice on Tuesday, November 2 in relation to one of her brothers, to be referred to in reporting as Accused D.

She gave evidence of two separate incidents during which she said her younger brother put his penis in her buttocks.

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.

The woman told Roisin Lacey SC, prosecuting, that her brother is several years younger than her.

She said he put his penis in her bum in a bedroom. She said she “felt” her brother was following her. “He was trying to play with me, but it was sex.”

The woman said she couldn't remember if her brother ejaculated and that she didn't sign anything to him. She said it took place in the morning in autumn.

When asked if she wanted her brother to do this, she replied: “I really, really didn’t”.

The interpreters told the court that the sign made by the woman can be used in different contexts and here, its meaning was “stuck with, had no choice”.

She said an aunt “saw”. Later in her evidence, she said this aunt went downstairs and told her mother.

When asked how she was feeling physically, the woman's answer was initially interpreted as “when I was small, I had an upset tummy and I was sick”.

The ISL interpreter clarified to the court that a more appropriate interpretation was “I was sick to my stomach, I was disgusted”.

The woman was asked what age she was when this incident occurred. She pointed to five years old on a chart. She said she could not remember how old her brother was.

The woman then gave evidence of a second incident in which she said her brother put his penis in her bum. She said she was lying on a bed in a bedroom and he was behind her. She said this happened in the morning in summer.

When asked if she tried to say or sign anything, the woman replied that she tried to scream as her aunt “could hear”. She said she felt frozen.

When asked if she wanted her brother to do this, the woman replied “no” and “you're too young”. She said she was five at the time and she thought her brother was four.

She has already given evidence in relation to four other accused men – her three uncles and another brother - who she alleges sexually abused her.

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.

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 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 earlier in the trial that she has challenges communicating timelines in terms of calendars and sequence.

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.

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.