Woman allegedly raped by sports coach as a child and says in court that she “felt violated”

The plaintiff in the trial 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 evidence on Thursday, the woman, now 48, told prosecutor Patricia McLoughlin SC that the defendant started working as her sports coach when she was a secondary school student. The woman described how she was “thrilled that someone had noticed her”.

She complained about her age of about 13 years and described her weight as “about 25 to 35 kilos”.

“I was stunted, my bra wasn’t even a size 30 AA. I was very thin, had short hair and looked like a child,” she added.

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.

I thought it was legitimate

During the “muscle check,” the defendant is said to have told the plaintiff that she was “a good girl” and said, “I have to try 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 prosecutor Ms. McLaughlin that the “muscle tests” continued and the defendant began touching her breast and told her he needed to do further tests. She then claims he digitally penetrated her.

Ms McLaughlin asked the woman if the defendant said anything to her during this, to which she replied that he responded, “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.

On one occasion, 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 this alleged incident, the girl did not tell her parents but told them she would no longer take part in the sport. She described being “in a state of shock” and feeling “terrible” and “hurt”, saying that “trust had been broken”.

In cross-examination, defence counsel Michael Bowman SC told the woman that his client was of the opinion that he could not remember her being at school or playing on 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 even enough space for one person to lie down, let alone two, which the plaintiff also did not accept.

The trial continues before Judge Melanie Greally and a jury.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this article, you can call the 24-hour national rape crisis helpline on 1800-77 8888, access the text service and webchat options at drcc.ie/services/helpline/ or visit Rape Crisis He.lp.