Sligo man on trial for rape and sexual assault of daughter

A 19-year-old woman will allege that she continued to be raped by her father after becoming pregnant by him five years ago, a…

A 19-year-old woman will allege that she continued to be raped by her father after becoming pregnant by him five years ago, a trial has heard. The 48-year-old Sligo man has pleaded not guilty to eight counts of sexual assault and seven counts of rape at the family home between September 2005 and September 2007.

On the first day of the trial yesterday at the Central Criminal Court, the jury was told it would hear evidence that the accused man would abuse her when she would come into his bedroom at night because she was afraid of ghosts.

Opening the case, Isobel Kennedy SC, prosecuting, told the jury it would hear evidence that the abuse began shortly before the girl’s 13th birthday.