County Limerick man denies sexual assault allegations
A COUNTY Limerick man who is accused of 13 counts of indecently or sexually assaulting six children over two decades has denied the allegations against him.
The 50-year-old, who is originally from West Limerick, has pleaded not guilty to the offences, which are alleged to have happened at different locations in West Limerick and North Cork on dates between January 1987 and August 2010.
The jury of six men and six women has been told the alleged victims include the accused man’s son and daughter and a number of his extended family.
In her evidence, his daughter, now aged 18, said she was six years old when her father grabbed her hand and made her touch his genitals.
On another occasion she said she was giving him a hug when he touched her bottom and then moved his hand to her vagina area.
This Wednesday the jury was told the defendant denied the allegations following his arrest in April 2011.
In his direct evidence, he told barrister Patrick McGrath the first he heard of the allegations was when the HSE wrote to him in 2011.
He added that he did not know why the allegations had been made against him.
“I didn’t do anything to them,” he said describing the allegations as lies.
The accused also denied making admissions in relation to one of the offences in a letter he wrote to his wife in the mid 1990s.
He agreed he told gardai he had made the admissions (in the letter) but claimed he had done so to “get out of his marriage” after he wife confronted him about the allegations.
In his evidence, the 50-year-old said he did not make admissions in the letter and he told the court he and his wife stayed together for a number of years afterwards.
The trial continues before Judge Caroll Moran.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Limerick
Thursday 20 June 2013
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 12 C to 17 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 12 C to 15 C
Wind Speed: 16 mph
Wind direction: South west
