Court told of schoolgirl's disturbing sex diary

A diary containing a list of the alleged sexual partners of a 13-year-old schoolgirl was admitted in evidence at the opening of a criminal trial yesterday.

A 34-year-old man is facing six counts of sexually assaulting the girl on dates between June 1 and November 30, 2003, when he was 27 years old. He is denying the charges.

The victim, now aged 19, gave graphic details of the alleged assaults, which she claimed took place in the accused's car, parked in wooded areas outside the town where they both lived.

Donegal Circuit Court heard how the troubled schoolgirl had gone "off the rails" after returning home from three months in care in 2003.

She had lost interest in school and was drinking alcohol, smoking and hanging around with older people. She had also become sexually active.

It was not being alleged that she did not consent, nor was it claimed that she was coerced in any way. But the court heard that consent was "not an issue" when the person was under 15.

The 19-year-old revealed how she had kept a detailed, colour-coded diary in 2003 in which she recorded names and dates of sexual encounters.

The diary contained a list of names, addresses and ages, and included the accused's details.

Alongside each name was a tick to indicate sex and a further symbol to indicate whether they had a car.

The case only came to light in December 2003 after the young girl's mother made a report to gardai.

She was interviewed and an emergency care order was issued. She was taken into care and later removed to a secure unit in Dublin in 2005.

She told the court that she finally agreed to co-operate fully with gardai because she wanted to put it all behind her and get on with her life.

"I came to realise that these men were very wrong for what they had done to me. I was only a child. I was 13. These men were adults," she said.

She told how on June 20, 2003, she and her friend had been drinking when they met the accused. He invited them to go "for a spin" in his car.

She said he had asked her age on one occasion and when she replied that she was 13 he told her she was "too good looking" for her age. The encounters ended after she saw him in his car with another female.

None of the parties involved can be identified for the duration of the trial. The case continues.

* This article is from The Belfast Telegraph