Alleged child sex victim described as "vengeful and bitter"

Tuesday 01 November 2016

The trial continues today of an 85-year-old retired farmer for allegedly sexually abusing a boy under 16, who kept chickens on his farm.

Bryan John Le Brocq appeared in the Royal Court yesterday charged with eight counts of sexual assault on the alleged victim, who was 13 when it is claimed the abuse started. He denies all the charges.

The Court heard how the man, who is now 30 years-old, met Mr Le Brocq at a time when his parents were splitting up and he was looking for a place to keep his chickens.

Screened off from the defendant, the alleged victim told the jury the abuse started in early 2000.

When asked why he didn't stop him and kept going back to Mr Le Brocq's farm, he said: "I felt shocked. I felt trapped. I felt vulnerable but I also felt I had nowhere else to go, that no one cared about me.

He went on to tell the court that Mr Le Brocq told him not to tell anyone as they'd both get into trouble and that he continued to sexually assault him on a weekly or fortnightly basis after that.

He said: "I was ashamed. I felt concerned. I had got myself into something I couldn't back out of. From that moment onwards I felt physically trapped by Bryan, like he had a hold over me. I'd never had any sexual relationships before."

But defending Mr Le Brocq, Advocate Heidi Heath put it to the alleged victim that: "It is a vengeful and bitter response to someone causing you harm. You are the type of person that bears grudges and acts out on those grudges?"

The man replied: "No, I am not."

Ms Heath then said the alleged victim was acting in order to get his own back on the defendant, saying Mr Le Brocq threw him off the property. 

She said: "This is a way of getting back at him. This is another person who has let you down. He kicked you out."

The trial at the Royal Court continues.