A man has gone on trial at Dungannon Crown Court for charges of sexually abusing a female child relative.
The accused, who cannot be named to protect the identity of the complainant, faces five charges in total – two of sexual touching and three of sexual penetration.
Offending alleged to have occurred on dates between October 2020 and March 2021.
All charges are denied.
Dungannon Crown Court heard the complainant – then aged 16 – told two school friends of alleged sexual abuse who in turn alerted a teacher and the matter was reported to police.
She had sworn the friends to secrecy and never thought they would tell anyone, so it “came as a shock when police and Social Services” arrived at school.
The complainant described being, “deeply troubled, deeply unhappy and withdrawn … and was never a willing participant.”
She knew what he was doing “was wrong but was scared to tell anyone or put a stop to it”.
The first alleged incident occurred when the defendant encouraged her to lie alongside him on a sofa, with a blanket over them both.
During this she contended “he grabbed my hand and put it under his trousers.”
This lasted for approximately 30 minutes, only stopping when another person walked into the room.
Another alleged incident was in a car, when he was going for diesel and she asked to go too.
She described being driven into a dark lane where he pulled her on top of him and sex allegedly occurred.
In another incident the complaint described being in a kitchen when the defendant allegedly took her hand and placed it on his genitals.
She claimed to have become very scared and tried to avoid him.
When police became involved she confirmed initially being against participation, putting off providing a statement, as she wanted to protect her family.
Under cross-examination defence counsel contended that instead of the defendant becoming sexually involved with the complainant, she was infatuated with him and it was her “fantasy”.
This was refuted but the defence continued, “Did you ask (defendant) to take you for a drive while you weren’t wearing any underwear?”
“No – I’m not the one who suggested that,” she replied.
The defence pointed out the complainant was reluctant to hand over her phone to police as, “You were behaving inappropriately around the defendant, not the other way round”.
This was denied, to which the defence said, “In fact your mother spoke to you about this.”
The complainant confirmed this conversation did take place however she couldn’t remember what was discussed other than, “She said to stop texting him.”
“Nothing about your infatuation with and obsession with him?” asked the defence
“No. I can’t remember.”
The defence said, “So we’ve gone from ‘no’ and ‘I can’t remember’ but it could be possible. Do you remember getting upset if he didn’t return your messages, and you regularly checked online to see what he was doing? Isn’t it correct you had to be blocked on Snapchat, because of your infatuation and obsession?”
The complainant said, “I wasn’t obsessed with him. I was looking for a father-figure.”
“You copied what he ate and drank, you fought to sit beside him and would drag others away if the chair was taken. In your obsession you sent indecent images of yourself in the shower and the school toilets. Is that why you were reluctant to hand over your phone to police.”
While accepting copying the defendant she flatly denied ever sending inappropriate images
The defence enquired, “Did you text him saying you were watching pornography?”
“No, I did not,” replied the complainant.
The defence enquired, “Are you deliberately hiding information from the court?”
“No, I’m not,” she responded.
The defence said, “Are you trying to stand over fibs you told in the playground which you didn’t think would be reported and are trying to brazen it out?”
The complainant denied this was the case.
The trial continues.
