An 11-year-old girl and her friend, aged 12, told a jury in Dublin yesterday they were sexually molested by a neighbour while playing with other children in his house five years ago.
The girls were giving evidence via video-link to the Circuit Criminal Court in a case in which the 37-year-old defendant has pleaded not guilty to 31 charges of sexual assault relating to seven girls on dates from 1993 to 1995.
The jury also heard an allegation from a brother of one of the girls that he saw the accused putting his head underneath a girl's clothing saying he was looking for shoes.
Prosecuting counsel Ms Maureen Clark SC (with Mr Barry Hickson), told the jury the accused was married with two children and had been employed full-time until he sustained a back injury in a work accident. This confined him to the house.
While at home he would mind a number of children after school when, it was alleged, the sexual offences occurred.
The first of the alleged victims, who was aged five or six at the time, told the jury the defendant locked her in the bathroom one day and asked her to touch a part of his body. She said she did this once because she was afraid but refused to touch him there again in the bedroom.
The girl said in reply to Ms Clark he would put his fingers on certain places and this would occur up to three times a week, with his children and other friends present in different areas of the house, including the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.
She recalled one incident where he was sitting on the sofa beside her with other children present and he pretended to look for some shoes but lifted her skirt.
The girl also claimed he would pretend to throw her and her best friend in the fire and the washing machine, and would pick the children up with one hand using his other hand to touch the children improperly.
When asked was he nice to her, the alleged victim replied: "Sometimes, but not when he was touching me in my private part."
The girl said the defendant's sons were always around during the alleged abuse. Once the boys asked what their dad was doing to them and she replied he was touching her but they did not believe her.
Cross-examined by defence counsel Mr John Whelan SC (with Mr Lewis O'Brien), the alleged victim said at times she would shout at one of the defendant's sons for help and the boy would try and pull her away from his father.
Asked why she had not stood up herself, she said she could not as the defendant would keep her on his knee, where she felt unhappy and upset.
She decided to tell her parents 31/2 years ago of the alleged abuse after her family moved from the area and when her "private parts were getting sore". She also suffered bowel trouble and kept soiling her pants.
She denied Mr Whelan's suggestion someone had overheard her talking with her friends and plotting to get some money allegedly owed to the defendant from his work accident.
She also denied counsel's suggestions that the defendant's wife had visited the girl's house and witnessed her father allowing her and her brother watch adult movies on TV.
The second girl, now aged 12, also told the jury the defendant would touch her in a similar way to that outlined by the first witness.
The 14-year-old brother of one of the girls told Ms Clark he remembered one particular morning when he and his sister and her friend were waiting in the defendant's home for a lift to school.
He said the defendant molested his sister's friend while telling the children he was looking for shoes. The boy said he then rushed home and told his parents "not to let his sister down there again".
The hearing continues before Judge Frank O'Donnell.