Complainant speaks of shock and “feeling violated” by sports coach abuse

This article contains references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

By Claire Henry

The complainant in the trial of a sports coach, accused of raping and indecently assaulting her when she was a teenager 35 years ago, has described being in “a state of shock” and “feeling violated”.

The 78-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and 15 counts of indecent assault in a school on dates between October 1989 and October 1990. The complainant was between 13 and 14 years’ old at the time.

In her evidence on Thursday, now 48-year-old woman told Patricia McLoughlin SC, prosecuting, that the accused began as her sports coach while she was a student in secondary school. The woman described being “thrilled that someone had noticed her”.

The complaint was approximately 13 years of age and she described herself as being about “four and a half to five stone in weight, I was underdeveloped, my bra was not even 30 AA, I was very skinny, with short hair and I looked like a child.”

The jury heard that the complainant trained nearly daily and the accused suggested to her that he should carry out “muscle checks” to help her improve.

The woman said she was brought into a room and alleged the accused would stand behind her and instruct her to put her hands above her head; she then described him “putting one hand on her right breast and the other on her left breast and moving his hands up and down”. She estimated this would last about five minutes.

During the “muscle check,” the accused is alleged to have told the complainant that she was “a good girl” and said “I needed to work harder.” When asked if she had told anybody about this alleged continuous behaviour, she said, “No, because I thought it was legitimate.”

The complainant told Ms McLaughlin, prosecuting, that the “muscle checks” progressed and that the accused would start by touching her breast, and told her that he needed to do additional tests. She then alleges that he digitally penetrated her.

Ms McLaughlin asked the woman if the accused said anything to her while this was happening, to which she replied he would say, “Good girl”, “just be quiet”, and “We just need to get this done.”

The woman said she had no contact with the sports coach over that year’s summer holidays but resumed training again in September. On one occasion, when she resumed training, the coach took her to the same room where the alleged indecent assault took place and is alleged to have raped her.

The jury heard that after this 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” and feeling “awful”, “violated” and said “the trust had been broken.”

In cross-examination of the complainant, Michael Bowman SC, defending, put it to the woman that it was his client’s position that he has no recollection of her in the school or of her being involved in the team, which the woman did not accept.

He further suggested that the room in which the alleged rape took place was so small that there was not enough room for one person to lie down, not to mind two; the complainant did not accept this.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and a jury.