Young child reveals sex abuse in video
(CNS): A little girl who told a social worker that she was being sexually abused by her mother’s boyfriend appeared in court Tuesday via video link to give evidence against her alleged abuser but struggled to talk about what she said was “the bad touching”. The child had revealed the accusations of assault when she was just eight years old after it had been happening for a year. At that time she was interviewed by police and revealed the disturbing allegations on video, which was played to the court.
The girl, who is now aged ten, told police that a 58-year-old West Bay man (who was 56 at the time) who was living in the family home was abusing her. The abuse allegedly took place when her mother was sleeping or at work, and happened in the room where the family, including the child, all slept. She spoke of the man forcing his penis into her mouth and making her want to throw up, touching and licking her genitals and squashing her in what appeared to be allegations of attempted rape.
The court heard that the little girl was removed from the home after reporting the abuse in May 2014. Following a police investigation, the suspect was arrested a month later and then charged in February 2015. But the trial did not start until Tuesday, almost two years after the child reported the incident. No reason was given to the court for the lengthy delay from charge to trial.
In the video made in the immediate wake of the child’s reports and played to the court, the young girl spoke of the abuse in some detail. But two years later, clearly disturbed by seeing the footage again and being asked to recall the events and answer questions about them for the court, the child was upset, which made testing of her evidence extremely difficult. Given the rules surrounding the cross-examination of children in such cases, the court was adjourned to allow her to return Wednesday and for the court to try the questions again.
The accused man, who cannot be named because of the risk of identifying the child, is currently remanded in custody. He has denied the allegations, which include two counts of gross indecency, two counts of indecent assault and one count of attempted rape. He has claimed that the child made up the allegations so that she could leave the home where she lived with him and her mother and live with her father.
