Young victim abused before, court told

THE Mother of a girl who claimed she had been indecently assaulted today told a court her daughter had been sexually abused in the past by her two grandfathers.

The woman, who cannot be named to protect the identity of her child, said both her father and her husband's father had pleaded guilty at court to sexually abusing her child.

Ipswich Crown Court heard that the girl's uncle had also been accused of similar allegations but although there had been a police investigation that case had never gone to court.

The mother's evidence was heard during the trial of Alan Harvey, 40, of Hadleigh Road, Ipswich. Harvey denies eight counts of cruelty to a child, three counts of indecent assault and one count of inciting a girl to commit an act of gross indecency.

The girl told the court Harvey had committed sex acts on her on a number of occasions and had encouraged her to touch him indecently.

Her mother told the court she had not primed the girl before she was interviewed by police. She denied that she had asked her daughter to exaggerate her evidence and had not told her what other people had said Harvey had done to them.

The girl told police Harvey had pulled her on his lap and asked her to rub his private parts over his clothing. "He grabbed me and I was sitting on his leg, he had his hand up by skirt," she told the court.

Other child witnesses who came forward said Harvey had punched them and hit them with sticks leaving their arms and legs covered in bruises.

Maria Dineen, defending Harvey, suggested that the girl's sexual allegations had been made up because she "hated" Harvey for trying to discipline her.

The trial continues.