A woman has said she was sexually assaulted and raped by her guardian’s foster child over a ten year period in Donegal.
The accused has pleaded not guilty to 46 counts of sexual assault and rape of the woman, who is eight years younger than him.
The Central Criminal Court heard the alleged abuse took place between January 1965 and June 1975.
The offences are alleged to have happened in two different houses in Donegal as well as a shed behind one house, according to the woman.
The alleged offences started before the woman’s First Holy Communion when she was seven and continued until she completed her Intermediate Certificate in 1975.
Prosecuting counsel, Caroline Biggs SC, was told by the woman she was “beaten, punched, intimidated and put in fear” by the man after he made her perform various acts of indecent assault.
She said the man “never had any respect” for her and would punch her in the head and face when he walked past her in the home.
She said she would lie to her aunt about how she got the bruises and marks, claiming she had fallen down the stairs.
She drank a lot and on two separate occasions the accused held a knife to her throat and threatened to slit it if she told anyone what was happening.
The trial continues before Justice Paul Carney.