THE JURY IN the trial of a sports coach accused of raping a teenage girl 35 years ago has heard from the complainant’s father, who said the man asked him to encourage his daughter to return to the sport.

The 78-year-old man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to one count of rape and 15 counts of indecent assault in a school on dates between October 1989 and October 1990.

The complainant was between 13 and 14 years old at the time.

The complainant’s father gave evidence of how his daughter “suddenly and without warning” stopped participating in the sport.

He then described how the accused called him a month later and told him to encourage her to go back as she had “great potential”.

The man said he “did encourage his daughter to return to the sport as he did not know what had happened”.

In cross-examination of the man, Michael Bowman, SC, defending, suggested that there was no telephone call and that his client never rang him. The father rejected this statement.

The jury today heard evidence that the accused man regularly walked through the girls’ changing and shower areas while they showered and changed after PE classes and sports activities.

The accused was in his forties then, while the girls were secondary school students.

A witness in the trial told Patricia McLoughlin, SC, prosecuting, that she was friends with the complainant in secondary school and described her as a “very, very tiny girl, with short hair and braces”. She described the girl as “super happy and confident “.

Ms McLoughlin asked the witness, “as school progressed, did she notice any change in the girl?”.

The witness replied: “There was a significant change; she was subdued and chose to do things on her own.”

She described how the girl lost a dramatic amount of weight and that her cheekbones were protruding. She said the girl wore layers and layers of clothes, which were too big for her.

The jury heard that, subsequently, the complainant had suffered a bereavement at this time.

During cross-examination, Mr Bowman SC suggested that his client would knock on the door before entering the girls changing and shower area.

This witness disagreed, stating: “He would never knock, and the door was wedged open.”

Another witness told the jury that the complainant disclosed aspects of the alleged abuse to her when they lived together many years ago.

The witness said the complainant became very upset and was crying during this time. She further disclosed that a former sports coach carried out the alleged abuse.

The trial continues before Ms Justice Melanie Greally and a jury on Tuesday.