GALWAY WOMAN AT CENTRE OF RAPE TRIAL GIVES EVIDENCE

Date Published: 21-Feb-2008

A Galway woman who alleges she was raped by a neighbour in a field in 1972 has claimed at the Central Criminal Court that she may have been "set up" by the accused man's mother.The 57-year-old man has pleaded NOT guilty to two counts of raping the woman on dates in 1972 and 1979, and to one count of indecently assaulting her on a date in 1971.The Galway woman alleged at the age of 12 she was told to go down to a field with the man by his mother to look for the cattle even though she knew there were no animals there. She also described another instance where the accused had given her a bag of sweets and his mother said to her: "Somebody actually likes you."She denied a suggestion by Defence Counsel Martin Giblin that none of the abuse had happened, saying "I can understand that you would put that to me but I know what happened."The hearing continues before Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy.