Prosecution hails ‘strength of children’ in abuse trial

THE prosecution case against five family members accused of child abuse is ‘an edifice built on the strength and the truth of the children’, a jury has been told.

‘This is an extraordinary case involving multiple allegations by multiple children of multiple wrongdoing over multiple years,’ Bernard Condon SC, prosecuting, told the Central Criminal Court jury in his closing speech yesterday.

He said: ‘These are deeply traumatised children coming to make deeply unpleasant communications to strangers – gardaí – not knowing how it will be received.’

The court has heard that the three eldest children were aged between five and eight at the time of the allegations, while the two younger children were aged between one and four.

Neither the accused nor the alleged victims can be identified because of reporting restrictions.

Mr Condon said that while the jury could ‘nit-pick away at discrepancies here and there’, he urged them to remember ‘the difficulties of recounting the sheer number of [things] done to these children, by the sheer number of people who did

‘Huge advantage was taken by adults’

these things to these children over a period of time – of years – in many different locations’.

‘Atrocious things’ were done. ‘They didn’t just happen like that,’ Mr Condon said. ‘They happened because of a combination of people coming together at the right time in the right circumstances. Huge advantage was taken by people who had responsibilities as adults.’

He said the idea which had been ‘floated’ at trial that the children manufactured the allegations ‘because they wanted a better life’ was ‘extraordinary’.

‘I can only suggest to you to use your common sense,’ he said.

Mr Condon noted there were ‘striking similarities’ between the children’s allegations.

‘The sheer unlikelihood of several people making similar allegations against you is supportive of the prosecution case,’ he said.

He noted there was no evidence of collusion between the children in relation to the allegations, nor was there a ‘whit of evidence’ that a third party was involved in helping two of the children prepare their notes for gardaí.

All five accused have denied the charges of abuse and against them.

The trial continues.