A 28-year-old woman has alleged she was indecently assaulted by a games master when she was at a west Dublin primary school in 1982. The jury at the Central Criminal Court was told by Ms Miriam Reynolds SC, prosecuting, that the woman did not lodge a formal complaint with gardai until August 1997.
A 45-year-old teacher denies indecently assaulting the then 11-year-old girl on a date unknown between January 1st and December 31st, 1982, in a school storeroom. Ms Reynolds told the jury that the teacher used his position to prey on the girl. He was regarded by the girl and her friends at the school as being "very friendly and over-affectionate". He had been known to hug her.
Counsel said the woman recalled a day when she was playing in the schoolyard and was told the teacher wanted to speak to her. She found him sitting on the desk in the classroom and he spoke to her about becoming more involved in athletics. Two of her friends were peering in through the window. Ms Reynolds said the woman would tell the jury the teacher asked her to do some test runs and asked if she had her shorts in.
He accompanied her to what was called a strongroom in which projectors and other such technical equipment were stored. The teacher then asked her to stand with her hands on a wall and her legs flexed. He then rubbed her legs outside her clothes and remarked she had nice legs. He told her to remove her jeans and told her she needn't put on her shorts.
The teacher then rubbed her legs again and touched her vaginal area under her pants. Eventually, she pulled on her jeans and left. The girl was shocked and told her friends when she got back outside. She did not go to the gardai at the time but did so in August 1997. Counsel said the teacher was traced to Co Galway where he then taught and was arrested and charged. The hearing continues.