Alleged rape by trainer left girl in “shock”, trial says

The plaintiff in the case against a sports coach who is accused of raping and inappropriately touching her as a teenager 35 years ago described herself as “in a state of shock” and “feeling violated.”

The 78-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty in the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and 15 counts of indecent assault at a school between October 1989 and October 1990.

The complainant was between 13 and 14 years old at the time.

In her statement today, the woman, now 48, told prosecutor Patricia McLoughlin SC that the defendant had worked as her sports coach since she was at school.

The woman described how excited she was that someone had noticed her.

The complaint referred to an age of about 13 and she described herself as weighing about “25 to 35 kilos, I was stunted, my bra was not even a size 70 AA, I was very thin, had short hair and looked like a child”.

The jury heard that the plaintiff trained almost daily and the defendant suggested that he do “muscle checks” to help her make progress.

The woman said she was taken to a room and claimed the defendant stood behind her and instructed her to raise her hands above her head. She then described how he “put one hand on her right breast and the other on her left breast and moved his hands up and down.”

She estimated that this would take about five minutes.

During the “muscle check,” the defendant is said to have told the plaintiff that she was “a good girl” and that “I had to work harder.”

When asked if she had told anyone about this alleged ongoing behavior, she said, “No, because I thought it was legitimate.”

The plaintiff told the prosecutor, Ms McLaughlin, that the “muscle tests” were advanced and that the defendant had begun touching her breast and told her that he needed to do further tests.

She then claims that he digitally penetrated her.

Ms McLaughlin asked the woman if the defendant said anything to her during this, to which she replied that he said “good girl”, “just be quiet” and “we just need to get this over with”.

The woman said she had no contact with the sports coach during the summer holidays of that year, but resumed training in September.

One time, when she resumed training, the trainer took her to the same room where the alleged sexual assault had taken place and allegedly raped her there.

The jury heard that after the alleged incident, the girl did not tell her parents but told them she would no longer participate in the sport.

She described being “in a state of shock”, feeling “terrible” and “hurt” and that “trust had been broken”.

In cross-examining the plaintiff, defence counsel Michael Bowman SC explained to the woman that his client was of the opinion that he could not remember her being at school or playing in the team. The woman did not accept this view.

He further claimed that the room in which the alleged rape took place was so small that there was not enough space for even one person to lie down, let alone two; the plaintiff did not accept this.

The trial continues before Judge Melanie Greally and a jury.