A MAN accused of repeatedly sexually assaulting his son over three years has denied the allegations and accused his son of lying his way through his evidence at the Central Criminal Court.
The 52-year-old accused told the jury: “What I am being accused of you would not do to an animal.”
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty to 11 charges of anal rape; 12 charges of oral rape; 24 charges of sexual assault; and one charge of the wilful neglect or ill-treatment of the boy between April 11th, 2001, and June 23rd, 2004. The offences are alleged to have occurred while the boy was aged between 12 and 15 years.
The accused told defence counsel, David Goldberg SC, that his relationship with his son had been “very good, excellent” before the allegations. They used to go fishing, and he would take him to sporting activities.
He said his son had been initially a “pleasant” boy but at about the age of 12 or 13 he changed completely and would “fly off the handle”. He said: “I never sexually abused my son, never.”
He told Delia Flynn SC, prosecuting: “If someone was doing that to me I would get as far away as possible.”
When asked where a child would go to get help, he replied: “Anywhere, I would get help as soon as possible.”
When asked if it appeared to him his son found it easy to give his evidence in court, he replied: “He seemed to get through it easily, lying his way through it.”
The trial continues.