Boy alleged his father defecated on him, court hears

A boy who was allegedly sexually abused and neglected by his parents claimed that his father defecated on him, a jury has heard.

The latest allegations came from the child’s second foster mother, who was giving evidence on day 11 of the trial at the Central Criminal Court.

The court heard the child had a good relationship with this foster mother and that he felt safe enough with her to disclose the alleged sexual abuse.

He has previously alleged his father raped him, sexually abused him with a hot poker and forced him to have sex with his mother over the course of several years from when he was about six-years-old.

The father is alleged to have filmed some of these incidents and shown them to other people.

He is further alleged to have held a gun to the child’s head and to have left him locked in a box.

The parents face a total of 82 charges of abuse between 2007 and 2011 in Waterford.

The father and mother have pleaded not guilty to 16 counts each of sexual exploitation and one charge each of child cruelty.

The mother has also denied 16 counts of sexual assault while the father denies 16 counts of anal rape and 16 counts of sexual assault with a poker.

On Tuesday, the foster mother told prosecuting counsel Pauline Walley SC how the then eight-year-old didn't like having showers because he "didn't want that man in there with him", referring to his father.

He said his father used to sexually abuse him in the shower.

He also alleged his father threatened to “f*****g kill him” if he told anyone.

The foster mother said she told the boy he was very brave for telling her and that she “loved him to bits”.

“He had a great little heart,” she told the jury. “I told him there was nothing he could ever tell me that would make me stop loving him.”

Accusations

On another occasion the boy told her his father would play a “game” where the child would be raped with a hot poker.

He said his father would also “urinate and poo on him”.

The foster mother said he told her: “I don’t like the stick game, it hurts too much.”

She said she told the child “that it wasn’t his fault”.

She told the court that when the child wanted to talk about something difficult he would tell his foster mother he wanted to talk about “something from his toy box”.

The witness explained that the toy box was an analogy for his mind and his toys were overflowing thoughts that he needed to talk about.

Afterwards he would say he felt “freedom”. This meant he felt better about disclosing things, his foster mother said.

The jury previously heard the boy stayed with this foster family until 2013, when he was sent into residential care in the UK, where he remains.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Robert Eagar and a jury.