A former pirate radio operator has gone on trial in the Central Criminal Court accused of indecent assault on two females in the late 1970s.
Eamonn Cooke (70), with addresses at Heatherview Avenue, Tallaght, and Wheatfields Court, Clondalkin, both Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to 42 charges of indecent assault on the complainants on dates from January 1976 to May 1978 at an address in Dublin.
Patrick McCarthy SC (with Isobel Kennedy SC), prosecuting, told the jury that the offences started when the victims were seven and eight and continued until both girls were 10.
One of the women told the court that she and her friend went round to Cooke's house on a regular basis.
These visits were always in the absence of Cooke's wife and took place any time they were not in school.
She said that whenever there was "sexual contact" Cooke would give them money - "tuppence or five pence, then as the sexual activity increased it was 10p or 20p".
The witness described how she used to lie awake at night convinced she had "a baby inside her" after learning the facts of life at school.
She said Cooke told them that they would be put in a home if they told anyone about what was happening.
She said that once Cooke started running a pirate radio station from his house the abuse became less frequent.
She had talked to her friends about running away when a rumour started that videos had been found. After this, the woman said, she stopped going to Cooke's house.
The trial will continue on Monday before Ms Justice Maureen Clark.