A man accused of raping his girlfriend's 11-year-old sister has claimed he made admissions to gardaí because he "just thought he was doing the right thing at the time".
The 23-year-old denied that any of the claims made by the girl were true, and claimed she had hit his son whom she was baby-sitting on the night of the alleged offence.
Giving evidence at the Central Criminal Court, he said he returned home from the pub on the evening of June 5th, 2002, after having an argument with his girlfriend. He told Mr Niall Durnin SC, defending, that as he got to the doorway of his flat he heard a sudden cry. He asked the alleged victim if she had hit his son, but she denied it. He picked up the baby and went to bed, where he fell asleep.
He has pleaded not guilty to three charges of raping, three of anally raping and one each of orally raping and sexually assaulting the now 13-year-old girl on Wednesday, June 5th, 2002, in the sitting-room, bedroom and kitchen of a house in south-west Dublin.
On the Saturday following the alleged incident, the accused said he returned home from the zoo with his girlfriend and their baby to find gardaí at his home. He said a female garda told him he had been accused of rape, and he said: "No way. I didn't do it."
He was taken to a Garda station by Garda Paul Lynch, whom he claims told another garda: "If he tries to get away I'll shoot him." He said Garda Lynch told him he was a very lucky man as there had been "twenty guards waiting to take me up the mountains and beat me within an inch of my life". The officer told him that if he came clean it would all be over fast and if he didn't, the whole process would be dragged out for years.
Earlier in the trial, the jury was read a number of statements from the accused in which he admitted that he had sexually assaulted the girl, attempted to rape her and forced her to perform oral sex on him.
He told Mr Durnin that following the conversation with Garda Lynch he was confused, and thought the best thing to do was to "give them answers and get it over with".
He disagreed with Ms Mary Ellen Ring SC, prosecuting, who put it to him that the evidence given by the alleged injured party could be relied upon as truthful.
Mr Justice O'Donovan asked him if he could think of any reason why the girl would make up such a story. He replied: "No, your honour."
Both sides are due to begin summing up their evidence today, and the jury will begin deliberating on Thursday after being addressed by the judge.