Alleged abuse victim claims father put her up to making false claim
A young woman accusing her father of sexually abusing her as a child has agreed that she made a false allegation of abuse against another man but said her father put her up to it.
The 73-year-old Dublin man has pleaded not guilty to sexually assaulting a son from the age of three to six and sexually assaulting and raping two daughters between the ages of four and 11.
The offences are alleged to have occurred in locations across the country including Dublin, Wexford and Cork between 1995 and 2002.
The now 19-year-old complainant agreed with defence counsel, Mr Blaise O’Carroll SC, that she had made a completely untrue allegation against a man that he had abused her and that she had said her father had put her up to it.
She agreed that when she made the allegation she knew it was wrong and she still made the complaint against an innocent man.
She denied writing a letter in which an allegation against the man was made and which stated the happiest time of her life was living with her parents.
She told Mr O’Carroll: “He put me up to it” when he suggested that what she was saying about her father was completely at variance with what actually happened.
She denied a suggestion by Mr O’Carroll that the allegations of sexual abuse she was making against her father were “a figment of your imagination.”
She agreed with Mr O’Carroll that her father had opened a post office account for her in 2002 into which he had deposited €3,000. She agreed he also opened accounts for other siblings so there was no “favouritism.”
Mr O’Carroll put it to her that records suggest about €2,044 was withdrawn from her account over a period of months and she replied that she did not think it was that much. She said she had spent money on public transport and arcades.
She agreed she told gardaí in a statement that her father had also given her hundreds of euro over a period of time and gave her €600 or €700 on one occasion so she could get away from police and social workers after she escaped from a care home.
Mr O’Carroll asked the woman if she as an 11-year-old had spent a total of €3,500 over a couple of months and she replied she did not know.
She said she didn’t know if the money she alleged was given to her was supposed to “keep her sweet.”
She agreed that home videos of birthday parties appeared to show her having no difficulty sitting on her father's lap. “I still played with him, I still loved him, I had fun times as well,” she replied.
When Mr O’Carroll put it to her that she could be seen on the video removing biscuits from her father’s hair she relied “He was my Dad. I know I did have good times as well as bad. I loved him.”
She agreed that she and her sister looked “extraordinarily happy” in a photo taken while they were on a walk with their father.
The trial continues before Mr Justice George Birmingham and a jury of eight men and four women.
