Man accused of sexually assaulting young girl denies he was ever alone with her

A man accused of sexually assaulting a young girl his wife was minding in their family home denies he was ever alone with the child, his trial has heard.

The 59-year-old man has pleaded not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to two charges of sexually assaulting the then four-year-old child on dates between July 27th, 2016 and July 11th, 2017.

The child’s mother and the accused’s family had been very friendly for a number of years and her daughter had been minded by both the man’s daughter and wife from the time the child was one year old.

On the fourth day of his trial on Friday, Garda Eoin Mulvaney told Pauline Walley SC, prosecuting, that he interviewed the accused man regarding the allegations on August 15th, 2017.

During the interview, the man said the complainant had been minded in his house since she was a baby. He said the child was minded by his wife while the girl’s mother was at work.

The accused man said he had nothing to do with her at all and he had never babysat any child. He said the only contact he had with the child on the day before the allegations were made was that she put her hand in his mouth messing and that was a regular occurrence.

He said that none of the allegations had ever happened and that he was never alone with the child. He said he did not hold any anger towards her or her mother, he just did not understand why the allegations were made.

The accused man said that he was family-orientated and that he knew what way he would feel if anyone touched any of his daughters.

Gda Mulvaney agreed with John Fitzgerald SC, defending, that an accused person had a perfect entitlement to say nothing when interviewed by gardaí­. He agreed that the accused man absolutely denied all allegations.

The trial resumes on Monday before Judge Elma Sheahan and a jury.