Exclusive:Child phoned her mum 'in tears' saying she had been sexually assaulted by Waterlooville man, court hears
“It was very upsetting - she was crying, she was panicking and she was scared.”
A mother has told a jury about the harrowing moment her young daughter said she had been sexually abused.
Michael Albery, 35 from Rodney Way, Waterlooville, pleaded not guilty to one count of rape, two counts of raping a child, three counts of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity, two counts of assaulting a child by touching, one count of attempted rape, and one count of causing a child to look at an image of sexual activity. He denies all the charges.
He had been charged with an additional count of intentional strangulation, but was found not guilty to this after the prosecution offered no evidence.
At Portsmouth Crown Court today (Friday, September 4), the jury heard from the mother of one of the children who reported being abused to the police. As the children have a life-long right to anonymity, the mother is not being named, and some details of her cross-examination have been omitted from publication.
She told the court about the day her daughter phoned her in tears, telling her mother that she had been sexually abused.
“My daughter sounded so upset, and distraught,” the mother said. “She was saying he had been making her touch him inappropriately.
“She was running to someone’s house at the time, so I rushed out to go and meet her. It was very upsetting - she was crying, she was panicking and she was scared.
“I told her that we needed to tell the police what had happened, that it was the right thing to do.
“I was in real shock; I didn’t want to ask her too many questions, and her then have to go through it all again with the police.”
The child was one of two youngsters who came forward with reports of sexual abuse, with police interviewing them earlier this year.
Breathing heavily in the dock, Albery averted his gaze from the woman while she gave evidence. He quietly cursed under his breath a number of times, later weeping as further evidence was heard.
Solicitor Philip Allman, representing Albery, asked: “Your daughter told you she had been touched inappropriately, but what had led her to tell you about it? What had prompted her to do so?”
The mother added: “My daughter had a conversation with a friend, who said she would tell her mum, so she needed to tell me.”
(Proceeding)