A WIDOWER who had denied rapping his daughter told a jury in the Central Criminal Court yesterday "I will plead guilty if you leave my daughter alone."
His outburst came after his now 18 year old daughter had broken down crying several times, saying she did not want to give evidence against her father.
I plead guilty to these charges. Leave my daughter alone," he said at first.
When Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC, prosecuting, noted the accused man's exclamation, the man added "I said I will plead guilty if you leave my daughter alone."
Mr Justice Shanley adjourned the hearing for a short period and the trial later continued.
The 40 year old accused man is on trial on five charges arising out of alleged incidents on November 8th-9th, 1992, in the family home. He has denied raping his daughter, buggering her, committing incest and sexually assaulting her twice on those dates.
At the start of her evidence by video link, the girl broke down and said she did not want to give evidence in the case. "I don't want to be here and I don't want to be hearing all this again."
Pressed by Mr Vaughan Buckley about who had sexually abused her she replied "I don't wish to say.
Counsel said she had to answer the questions. When he asked her if a statement she made to gardai on November 9th, 1992, was true, the teenager hung her head and in a faint tearful tone said "Yes".
She agreed she told gardai of having two or three glasses of lager with her father in a pub on the previous Friday night. Her sister was sleeping with her.
Asked by Mr Vaughan Buckley if anyone else came into the room that night, the girl broke down again and said she could not remember.
Pressed further, she agreed 5he had told Garda Noirin McBrien in a signed statement that her father came into the room and asked her if she wished to move over in the bed so that he could come in beside her. She said no and he went to his own room.
When asked about the following night she again said she could not remember but agreed again with counsel that the contents of her statement were true.
When counsel continued with questions about what happened the next night, the girl sobbed in distress and did not reply. At that point, the accused man raised his hand and told the court he would plead guilty if she was left alone.
When the hearing resumed, the girl remained silent in reply to questions by Mr Vaughan Buckley about what she alleged happened on the Saturday night and again on Sunday morning, the time she told gardai her father raped her.
Counsel then read from her statement in which she made these allegations and in which she said her father claimed he did it because he loved her.
She replied "That is what happened." She said she was 14 years old at the time and did not consent to it. She complained to her grandmother on Monday morning, November 9th, and heard her grandmother telephoning her father with the threat she would "kill" him if he had harmed her.
Cross examined by defence counsel, Mr Barry White SC (with Mr Paul McDermott), the girl agreed she had told a doctor her father attempted to have sex with her both on Friday and Saturday night. She had not said that in her own statement or that he was molesting her all the weekend.
She disagreed with Mr White's suggestion that she was not residing in her father's house that weekend. She denied she ever told lies about her father but agreed she had made no complaint to her grandmother until after her father phoned looking for her.
The girl's grandmother told Mr White that a 30 year old niece was also present when the girl complained of her father raping her.
Mr White noted this was the first time the court had been told another person was present and asked why she had not revealed this previously to the gardai. Witness replied "She just didn't want to get involved. She lives in fear of this man [the accused] and his friends."
Pressed by Mr White about what she agreed were inconsistencies between her evidence at this trial and what she said previously, the woman replied "I lost three relatives in six weeks and 1 lost another son a year ago.
The hearing continues.