A young girl told jurors at Lewes Crown Court that she was sexually abused and physically assaulted by three generations of her own family from the age of six, and that her mother failed to protect her, a prosecutor said.
The girl, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, has been in foster care since January when family members were arrested. Prosecutor Jennifer Knight KC told the jury the girl described repeated rape, beatings, burns and neglect by her grandfather, father and two brothers, and said her mother punished and confined her rather than trying to stop the abuse.
Knight told jurors the abuse began when the child was about six and continued until she was 12. The girl first disclosed some of the allegations to a teacher, saying she was too frightened to return home, the prosecutor said. A three-hour video-recorded statement detailing the alleged offences was shown during the hearing, according to the prosecution.
Court accounts read by Knight said the girl's father beat her with a horse-whip, burned her with cigarettes, spat in her face, pulled her hair and raped her on multiple occasions. The girl's eldest brother, who is about ten years older, allegedly abused her from when she was six or seven and began raping her from the age of nine, threatening her and bribing her with toys, the prosecutor said.
The girl told the jury her grandfather also sexually abused her from about age 10 and made remarks about wanting to sleep with her, though he did not act on those comments, Knight said. The prosecutor outlined further allegations against the mother, saying the child described being struck with various implements including metal spoons, sandals and wooden poles; being burned with a candle and lighter; having salt put on wounds; and being bound and locked in a cupboard overnight with tape over her mouth.
Six family members sat together in the dock, charged with a total of 41 offences that include raping a child, sexual assaults, actual bodily harm, false imprisonment and perverting the course of justice. All defendants denied the charges when they were put to them, the court heard.
Knight told jurors that after the arrests in January the family, while on bail, attempted to persuade the child to change her account. The prosecution said the girl later told police and social workers that she had fabricated some physical-abuse allegations and the claim she had been locked in the shoe cupboard, but she consistently maintained that the sexual assaults by her grandfather, father and brothers had occurred.
The prosecutor said the child told investigators that she had considered recanting to protect relatives. Quoting the girl, Knight said she told officers: "The truth I say will put my family in a worse position and I don't want that." The jury was also told the mother told the child that having her as a daughter "made her life hell, so she would make her life hell in return," and that the mother communicated that the family were suffering because of the girl's disclosures.
The prosecution told the jury it relied on the detailed accounts given by the girl in January and March, arguing these statements described the conditions in the home and the abuse at length. Defence counsel have denied the allegations and the case remains subject to ongoing evidence and legal argument.
No verdict has been reached. The trial continues at Lewes Crown Court, where the court will hear further witness testimony and submissions before the jury considers the charges. Under court rules the victim's identity is protected and cannot be reported.