Court: Complainants spoke of childhood abuse in early 1990s, trial told

TWO women who say they were repeatedly sexually assaulted in the 1970s and 80s confided in a woman they knew of their childhood abuse, a court has heard.

A woman who was known to the girls told a jury at Sheffield Crown Court today (Thursday) that both complainants had told her in the early 1990s that they had been abused by Mark Andrews.

Andrews (58), of Pinchfield Lane, is accused of 28 sexual offences against two girls between August 1976 and June 1984.

He is accused of raping one of the girls — who we will refer to as Girl A — when she was eight or nine.

His friend Mark Ainsworth (55), of Fir Walk, Maltby, is accused of eight joint offences against Girl B between July and August 1978.

Andrews and Ainsworth are said to have involved a dog while they abused Girl B.

Neither Girl A, who is now 51, nor Girl B, who is now 55, can be identified for legal reasons.

Andrews would have been aged between 15 and 23 at the time of the abuse while Ainsworth would have been 14.

The witness told the jury that she had noticed a difference in the behaviour of Girl A when she was about six or seven, which would have been in the mid-1970s.

She said that in 1991 or 1992, Girl A had told her what had happened to her when she was younger — that she had been sexually abused by Andrews.

“She was very upset and was crying uncontrollably when she told me,” she said.

“I said we need to get this reported — I said this at the time.

“She kept on talking about it all the time to me.

“She said the he made her have intercourse and that was about all she said to me about that.”

Girl A did not tell her how long the abuse had gone on for, she said.

The witness said that Girl B had also told her she had been abused by Andrews.

She said that when she had spoken to Girl A she had told her that Girl B had spoken of similar abuse.

“[Girl B] told me that Mark [Andrews] had taken her into a bedroom with some of his friends and held her down, and one by one they sexually assaulted her,” she said.

The woman said that both complainants used to speak to her quite frequently about the abuse and how upset they had been.

She said she did not take any action or report it to the police.

“I should have done but I didn’t,” she said.

The trial continues.