Man denies 46 sex charges alleged to have happened in Donegal

A woman has told the Central Criminal Court she was sexually assaulted and raped by her guardian’s foster child over a ten year period in Donegal.
The accused man has pleaded not guilty to 46 counts of sexual assault and rape of the woman, who is eight years younger than him.
The alleged abuse took place between January 1965 and June 1975.
The woman claimed the alleged offences occurred in two different Donegal houses and a shed behind one of the houses when she moved in with her guardian.
The woman claimed the alleged offences started before her First Holy Communion when she was seven and continued until she completed her Intermediate Certificate in 1975.
The woman told prosecuting counsel, Caroline Biggs SC, she was “beaten, punched, intimidated and put in fear” by the man after he made her perform various acts of indecent assault.
She said the man “never had any respect” for her and would punch her in the head and face when he walked past her in the home.
She said she would lie to her aunt about how she got the bruises and marks, claiming she had fallen down the stairs.
She said he drank a lot and on two separate occasions held a knife to her throat and threatened to slit it if she told anyone what was happening.
The trial continues before Justice Paul Carney and a jury of nine women and three men.