Rape trial: verdict due

Rape trial: verdict due

22 February 2012

A DOWNPATRICK man accused of raping his young daughter has claimed that he “never touched her in his life.”

The man told a jury at Downpatrick Crown Court that he loved his daughter and he was “completely innocent.”

The man, who cannot be named to protect his daughter’s identity, denies having unlawful sex, as well as eight counts of indecent assault and two of assault. The abuse is alleged to have taken place between 1996 and 2000.

Last week girl told the jury of eleven women and one man how she was abused in her bedroom, in her parents’ bed while her mother was asleep and, on one occasion, in the hallway of her home when she was off school sick.

In the witness box, the man claimed his wife had “coerced” his daughter into making the

allegations and said the charges against him were  “the product of his wife’s suspicions.”

He said that he had “for the most part a happy family,” but it had its “up and downs and on occasions could be stressful.”

“The love and affection of the children was what kept me going. The children were everything to me,” he said.

He said he left the family home the same day the police were called and had not seen his daughter since.

He said his daughter was not a deceitful child, but claimed she was a “pawn” in what he described as his wife’s “conspiracy.”

The man admitted having a pornographic video, but denied that he had shown it to his daughter.

Under cross-examination, prosecuting lawyer Richard Weir QC told the man he was on trial for a “most vile series of matters” and his wife was horrified by what had happened.

“The choice here is between a conspiracy worthy of the CIA or the unvarnished truth from your daughter as she has persisted in telling through tears,” Mr. Weir remarked. “Your daughter is telling the truth and you did sexually abuse her.”

The court also heard from three members of the defendant’s family.

The man’s nephew said the alleged victim had made contact with him in 2007 using an instant messaging service and was in touch “almost daily”.

He said in the various conversations she claimed to have cancer, that her mother had

cancer, that she was pregnant, that she was being fostered, and on one occasion had taken “41 pills”. He indicated that he did not believe some of what she said.

Another cousin backed up this version of events and said she had been contacted by the girl over the internet and told similar stories.

The alleged victim’s aunt then related a number of text messages sent to her by her niece, which were produced to the court.

In one of the messages read out to the court, the girl referred to the things her father “did to me”. The text message went on to say: “You cannot stop loving your dad. I would not have life if it were not for him. I still love him. I just wish he was a normal daddy.”

The jury is expected to return a verdict later this week.