CLAIMS that a woman in her 70s had a sexual relationship with a child decades ago are “no more than a fantasy”, the woman’s defence advocate told the Royal Court on the second day of her trial yesterday.
Denise Violet Pirouet (77) is facing 15 charges of abusing the child, which the prosecution say happened at least ten times and the alleged victim said happened “tens of times”.
She has pleaded not guilty to all charges: four charges of indecent assault and 11 charges of procuring an act of gross indecency. Three of these are alternative charges, which the jury can use if they think an offence has happened, but not as often as the prosecution say it did.
The charges are being used to prosecute what was described as a relationship that grew from kissing and touching to including sex with the child.
Addressing the alleged victim in the Royal Court yesterday, Advocate Simon Thomas, defending, said: “I suggest that none of the sexual activity with Mrs Pirouet happened.
“And I suggest that what you told us yesterday about sexual activity is no more than a fantasy that you have created in your own mind.”
The alleged victim disagreed.
They had told the court yesterday that they hadn’t realised at the time that they were too young to consent.
They described how it had taken years and a period of “intensive therapy” to come to terms with the impact of the alleged abuse on them.
They had put off making a formal complaint because the Pirouets “were a very powerful family, especially during the 1980s”.
“I felt like I was in a pressure-cooker,” the complainant said. “I felt like establishment Jersey families weren’t to be challenged.”
“I never wanted to confront the issue about how it had damaged me,” the alleged victim continued.
“So it took me going to the police and starting that ball rolling before I could understand that I needed some therapy, I needed some mental health support to understand what had happened to me.”
Advocate Thomas pointed to details that the complainant had told the court, but hadn’t mentioned in their two police interviews.
On Monday, the alleged victim said that they had touched Mrs Pirouet’s hand behind a pillow.
But Advocate Thomas said they hadn’t mentioned this in their police interviews – and that they had made this up later on, in order to explain why no one had seen them.
“I’m not making it up,” the complainant replied.
Advocate Thomas quizzed the alleged victim about the grooming they described.
They added: “Other people being around was never something that would have put Mrs Pirouet off and thinking back at it, I think there was some kind of additional thrill to be had.”
Commissioner Sir John Saunders is presiding over the jury trial.
