A MAN who denies the alleged sexual abuse of a child has gone on trial.
John Ashley Dobson, 64, of Croft Close, Brough, near Kirkby Stephen, has pleaded not guilty to two charges. Each alleges that he indecently assaulted a girl of primary school age more than a quarter of a century ago.
As Dobson’s trial at Carlisle Crown Court began, jurors watched footage of an interview the complainant gave as an adult after police were alerted in 2018.
Dobson, she alleged, “abused me when I was a child”.
Describing one alleged indecent assault, she said: “I just remember crying. I wanted him to stop, but he didn’t stop. He didn’t stop at all. He just kept telling me to be quiet.”
The woman also spoke of another alleged incident, telling an officer: “He said I wasn’t allowed to say anything because I would get into trouble.”
Opening the case to jurors, prosecutor Neville Biddle said the girl had tried at the time to report what she said had happened, but was “ridiculed”.
“Having tried to get some help,” alleged Mr Biddle, “(she) was not believed and she had to bury what had happened to her in the depths of her mind.”
Judge James Adkin had earlier told the jury: “The real issues in this case are whether the things alleged actually happened.”
The trial continues.
