A WOMAN AND two men have gone on trial at the Central Criminal Court accused of the rape and sexual assault of a young girl, which allegedly began when she was three and a half years old. 

The woman and two men face a total of 21 counts of sexual assault and rape, which allegedly occurred on dates between 2000 and 2014, mainly at a location in the west of Ireland.

The three accused all have addresses in the west of Ireland. They can’t be named for legal reasons.

The woman has pleaded not guilty to 13 counts of sexual assault, and not guilty to one count of rape. The court heard she is the complainant’s mother.

It is alleged that the woman sexually assaulted the girl on nine occasions between 2000 and 2009 at the family home in on one occasion between 2012 and 2014 and on three occasions during a family holiday in 2001.

The second man has pleaded not guilty to five counts of rape and one of oral rape on dates between 2003 and 2012, all at the same address in the west of Ireland. The court has heard he is the complainant’s maternal uncle.

The third man pleaded not guilty to one count of oral rape between 2008 and 2009 at the same address. The jury heard he was a friend of the woman’s then partner.

Opening the case, prosecuting senior counsel Anne-Marie Lawlor told jurors they are expected to approach the case “without any sympathy or prejudice”.

She said the complainant, who is now in her mid 20s , was aged between three and a half and 12 years old when the majority of the alleged incidents are said to have occurred.

She told the jury it is expected that the complainant will say she was living in a house in the west of Ireland with her mother, her maternal uncle and other family members and that she shared a room with her mother.  

Ms Lawlor said the complainant’s expected evidence is that the first incident occurred when she was three and a half. The complainant is expected to say that she was naked in bed with her mother, who was also naked. Her mother then allegedly sexually assaulted her by getting her to lick her vagina. 

Counsel said the complainant is expected to say her mother told her this was a secret.

She said the sexual offending by the woman towards her daughter continued “habitually” until the girl was 12 years old.

Ms Lawlor told the jury that the complainant is expected to say she was around six when her mother brought her to her uncle’s bedroom, where he raped her. The girl’s mother remained in the room and watched while this occurred, before taking the girl back to her room.

Ms Lawlor told jurors that the law states that a party who “aids and abets” a criminal act can be tried as a “principal offender”.

She said that the second man is alleged to have performed the physical act of rape, adding that the woman also faces a charge of rape as she was allegedly present and “aided and abetted” that act.

The complainant is expected to give evidence that she was raped by her uncle on other occasions, which continued until she was around 12 years old. There is also one incident in which she says her uncle raped her orally.

Ms Lawlor said the complainant is expected to say her mother sexually assaulted her for a final time when she was 15, by touching her genital area and digitally penetrating her vagina. The girl played dead and her mother stopped, the court heard.

In relation to the third man, jurors were told he was a friend of the woman’s then-partner. Counsel said it is alleged that he raped the girl orally, telling her “your mother knows”.

She told the jury that these allegations relate to events which occurred in private, and there are no CCTV recordings “in the corner of room when her mother molested her or her uncle raped her”.

Ms Lawlor told the jury that the law on sexual assault states that a child under 15 cannot give consent. She suggested the issue of consent may be of less relevance in this case due to the complainant’s age when these alleged incidents occurred.

Ms Lawlor said some time passed before the complainant disclosed these alleged incidents and when interviewed, the three accused denied the allegations.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and the jury.