RAPE CLAIM ‘A JOKE’

Court hears man deny sex assault on 14-yr-old

A MAN accused of raping a 14-year-old girl yesterday branded the allegation “a joke”.

William George Mcveigh is charged with sexually assaulting the highly intoxicated teenager in West Belfast in the early hours of October 31, 2015. The 28-year-old is also facing two alternative charges of sexual activity with a child and sexual assault. He gave evidence as his trial entered its second week at Belfast Crown Court. The jury has already heard statements the girl was so drunk after attending a birthday party she was seen stumbling about the street and fell on several occasions. They have also watched CCTV footage of the teen. The court heard after leaving a pub with a friend the girl met Mcveigh outside a Chinese takeaway. She arrived home at 3.30am covered in mud and leaves. The girl told her mother she couldn’t recall exactly what happened the night before but said she remembered being in Woodvale Park with an older man. That man – Mcveigh – claimed they went for a walk before having consensual sex at the junction of Ainsworth Street and Caledon Street. When questioned by his barrister, “Did you rape her?”, Mcveigh answered, “No I did not, definitely not.” And when asked what he made of the rape allegation, he replied: “It’s a joke.” Under cross-examination, Mcveigh, of Forthriver Green in the Ballygomartin area of West Belfast, admitted he sometimes tells “white lies” and he initially lied to police about his movements over the weekend of the alleged offence. At hearing.