The trial has opened in Tralee of a man accused of child cruelty, and sexually assaulting his own daughter.
The man, who cannot be named by order of the court, is standing trial on five counts.
The jury of nine men and three women were sworn in yesterday, and were brought back before Judge Ronan Munro at Tralee Circuit Court this morning.
Barrister for the prosecution, Tom Rice, told them in his opening statement that there are three complainants in the case, and they are three of the man’s four children.
Mr Rice told the jury there are five counts, and they must be treated separately.
The man faces two counts of sexually assaulting his eldest daughter.
It’s alleged that he wrongly suspected his daughter, who was a young teenager at the time, was engaged in sexual activity and sought evidence of this by performing an examination on her private parts and penetrating her with his hand.
He also faces three counts of child cruelty over an eleven-year period, relating to his eldest daughter, one son, and another daughter.
Mr Rice told the court he will argue that the man engaged in extreme violence over a protracted period of time against sometimes very young children.
Mr Rice told the court the children were the subject of uncontrolled rages from their father, who also engaged in demeaning name-calling.
The man is represented by Senior Counsel David Sutton, instructed by Junior Counsel Katie O’Connell and solicitor Eimear Griffin from the office of Pádraig O’Connell.
A legal issue, to be dealt with in the absence of the jury, meant that the matter has been adjourned to this afternoon.
