THE JURORS in the Central Criminal Court trial of a Dublin man accused of sexually abusing a girl in the city over 20 years ago have been told they no longer need to consider seven out of the 11 counts against him.
The accused man (58) had originally pleaded not guilty to three counts of raping and eight counts of sexually assaulting the girl while she was aged between six and 11 between 1983 and 1989.
Mr Justice Daniel Herbert told the jury that it should now only concern itself with two counts of sexual assault between September and December 1983 and two counts of rape between May 1984 and February 1988 to which the accused had pleaded not guilty.
The now 31-year-old woman told Mary Ellen Ring SC, prosecuting, that the accused was a family friend and she visited his home frequently both alone and with relatives.
She “just stopped going” to the man’s home when she was about 11.
The trial continues.