Police officer dad accused of rape forced child to eat KFC until she was sick, court hears

A police officer accused of rape allegedly forced his daughter to eat KFC until she was sick. The 48-year-old has pleaded not guilty to two counts of raping his wife, two counts of child cruelty, and one count of assault.

The Garda, a police officer in the Republic of Ireland, appeared in court accused of raping his wife on dates in 2009 and 2021. He is also accused of child cruelty against his 24-year-old daughter on dates between 2027 and 2024, as well as assaulting her on an unknown date in late 2021 to early 2022. Although he is her step-father, she referred to him as her father in evidence as he has been her step-father for her whole life.

As reported by the Irish Mirror, the daughter said in court that the family home had “an atmosphere of violence and threats”. She added it felt like living in a military barracks as she grew up.

The alleged offences took place at two locations in the north-west of Ireland. Dominic McGinn SC, prosecuting, told the Central Criminal Court, in Dublin, that the accused was “a violent and domineering father and husband” who subjected two of his daughters to “unreasonable chastisement” for most of their childhood.

The officer is accused of raping his wife in 2009 and 2021. The victim said she had told him she didn’t want sex, but he said he didn’t care and went ahead with it anyway.

Meanwhile, her older daughter told the jury that “the house honestly felt like you were living in a military barracks”. She said on weekends she had to get up at 10am and if she didn’t a jug of cold water would be thrown over her.

Her father allegedly told her that her legs looked like the legs of a pool table when she was aged 15. He reportedly forced her to go running daily and that only way she could get out of it was by saying she was on her period.

She said that, in November 2021, they got a puppy after her mother moved herself and the children out of the family home. She said she became very fond of the dog but that when the family went to move back in with her father a few months later he told her he didn’t want the dog.

Becoming upset in the witness box, she testified that her father told them that “if the dog was brought up, he’d put rat poison in his food”. She told the jury that she decided to go to therapy in June 2024.

She earlier described an incident that took place when she was 18-years-old. The daughter got into a dispute with her father about using her laptop before he allegedly pushed her, causing her to land on her hip and suffer bruising.

She said his behaviour towards her sister was more “emotional manipulation”. She said he once made her eat a bucket of KFC chicken until it made her sick and was “always onto her about her weight and her appearance”. She said this impacted her sister.

In another incident, the mother was cooking when the officer came into the kitchen complaining about a picnic table having been left out. He allegedly shouted in her face before the eldest daughter was forced to intervene by hitting him with a hoover.

In March 2021, there was an argument between the parents because the mother had “started to put her foot down”. They were reportedly involved in a fight before the father barricaded the mother into a room.

The trial continues before the jury of seven men and five women and Justice Sean Gillane. It is expected to run for two weeks.