Court watches video of boy, 4, playing with teddy bear as he tells Garda of sexual assault by teen
A four-year-old boy played with a white teddy bear as he told a specialist Garda interviewer about being sexually assaulted by a teenage boy in the teen’s bedroom.
At Ennis Circuit Court today, a video of the interview which took place at a suite set aside for the purpose of interviewing young complainants or witnesses in June 2015 was played to the jury.
The boy told the female specialist interviewer that he felt "not safe" during the alleged sexual assault.
The accused was aged 15 at the time of the alleged assault and he denies the sexual assault of the boy who was aged between three and four at the time in 2014.
During the interview with the specialist Garda, the then junior infant pupil played with a set of toy cars on a large black leather seat and early on in the interview, it was adjourned for six minutes after he said “I want Mammy" and the boy spent time with his mother who was outside the interview room.
In the interview, the four-year-old said that the teenager grabbed his arm and “he told me to go to his bedroom”.
Asked how he felt when the teen grabbed him, the four-year-old said "not good".
The boy said that after leaving the teenager’s bedroom the boy told the teenager's mother what had happened in the bedroom.
At the end of the interview, the boy said that his mother was going to get him "loads of things" at a planned trip to Smyths Toy store.
As the boy was leaving the suite without the teddy bear, the interviewer said "don’t forget Ted" and handed the cuddly toy to him.
The boy - now aged nine - was watching the recorded interview at the same time as the jury in a different room at Ennis Courthouse today.
In a very brief cross examination of the boy, counsel for the accused, Mark Nicholas SC said that what the boy said about happened in the bedroom “is not true. It didn’t happen”.
In response, the boy replied: “It did happen.”
Mr Nicholas also stated that the boy didn’t tell the teenager’s mother of what had occurred in the bedroom and in response, the boy said: “I did tell her”.
The boy confirmed to counsel for the State, Patrick McGrath SC that the sexual assault did take place.
The boy told his mother of the alleged sexual assault in a train on the way home from hospital in April 2015 where medics diagnosed the four-year-old with having perianal genital warts.
The mother told the jury today that she was "heartbroken" and “in shock” on the train.
The mother said that she asked her son why hadn’t he told anyone and he said that he had told the accused’s mother after the alleged sexual assault.
The mother told the court that her son told her that after he told the accused’s mother, she went upstairs, went crazy and started hitting her teenage son.
The alleged victim's mother told the court that a doctor at the hospital told her that the anal genital warts were a sign of sexual abuse.
Mr Nicholas said that the doctors had told the family that there are many causes for such warts and there could be a more innocent non-sexual explanation for the warts and that it was important not to jump to conclusions.
The trial continues tomorrow.
