A MAN told the Central Criminal Court yesterday about a decade of sexual abuse at the hands of the father whom he has admitted shooting dead at their home.
Mr James Hendrick jnr said his father had begun abusing him when he was four and buggered him from about the age of eight. Mr Hendrick said the abuse stopped when he was aged about 14 and big enough to stop his father. He told the court his fit her had also abused his two sisters and brother and others.
He admitted he had shot his father in the early hours of January 27th, 1996. He said he fired two shots at his father after he had telephoned gardai and told them he was going to shoot him. He also informed them his father had sexually abused him. He told the court: "He just took too much out of me and I could take no more." Mr Hendrick said he was not sorry he had shot his father.
Ms Margaret Hendrick, her sister, Mary, and their brother, Patrick, all told the court of being abused by their father from a young age.
Two young men also told the court James Hendrick snr had made sexual advances to them.
The evidence was heard on the second day of the trial of James Hendrick jnr (26), of Ballinvegga, Rathgarogue, New Ross, Co Wexford, who has pleaded not guilty to the murder, but admitted the manslaughter, of his father James Hendrick snr (58). The manslaughter plea has been rejected by the State.
In court yesterday Mr Hendrick told Mr Patrick MacEntee SC, defending, that he had two older sisters, Margaret and Mary, and a younger brother, Patrick. His mother was sick with tuberculosis during his childhood and she died when he was 10.
Mr Hendrick said he never really got on with his father. His uncle, Mr Patrick Campbell, had lived with them and bought food and looked after them.
Mr Hendrick said that when he was eight his father had stubbed out a cigarette on his hand.
Mr Hendrick said he bad spoken about the abuse to other members of his family and had also, when he was 24, told a priest about it. He said he had never told gardai because he was "too embarrassed". He said he was concerned that his father would begin to abuse two children.
The accused man said he had developed an interest in shooting and was "a fair shot".
Asked why he shot his father, he said: "I just took all I could. I couldn't take any more. All my life he was abusing me, my sisters, brother, friends." He said he had never planned to kill his father.
Ms Margaret Hendrick, sister of the accused man, said she had also been sexually abused by their lather. She thought she was six ore seven when her father had full intercourse with her and this occurred quite regularly until she was 13. She did not tell anyone and said she thought such abuse was a normal" part of childhood. She told someone for the first time when she was about 18 or 19. Her father beat her mother.
She said she feared her father would abuse her own child and would not let her father near him.
Ms Mary Hendrick said she was sexually abused by her father between the ages of five and 13.
Mr Patrick Hendrick said he was also abused by his father for about four or five years.
The trial resumes tomorrow.