A woman who claims she endured sexual assaults by the owner of a Dublin dry cleaners throughout her employment at his firm agreed before the High Court yesterday that she made no complaints to her doctor about depression or anxiety until after she left the job.
Karen Murphy agreed it was her solicitors who had arranged for her to see two psychiatrists after she left her job at Craft Cleaners, Upper Baggot Street, in 1999. She further agreed that neither of those psychiatrists had prescribed medication for her.
Ms Murphy also said that when she sought to give her husband some details of alleged assaults by Danny Hoey, the owner of Craft Cleaners, in 1999, her husband did not want to know.
She said her husband "couldn't deal with it" and wasn't able to accept what she was telling him and had asked her to leave their home. She said she had pleaded with him but she ultimately did leave and stayed with her sister for three nights.
She denied a suggestion by Liam Reidy SC, representing Mr Hoey, that she lied to her doctor by telling him she left home because of Mr Hoey.
She said she didn't recall telling a friend in 1997 that her (Ms Murphy's) husband was "f**king around". "As far as I know, my husband never messed around," Ms Murphy said.
Ms Murphy said Mr Hoey would put his hand on her crotch in a "discreet" way while she was working. He would not do it in front of everyone, she said.
She agreed there were usually around 10 women on the shop floor. She also agreed that Mr Hoey's wife was regularly on the premises and that his sister and children would also be there. She saw about five or six of her colleagues being "grabbed". She did not see other women being groped between the legs. She said she saw Mr Hoey putting his arms around other girls, smacking their buttocks, rubbing their shoulders and making rude comments.
If Mr Hoey was "feeling randy", he would go around feeling a few of the girls and grabbing them and rubbing himself on them and making rude suggestions, she said.
Ms Murphy (40), formerly of Ringsend, Dublin, but now living in Wicklow, was being cross-examined in the continuing hearing of her claim against Mr Hoey, of Ailesbury Road, Dublin, and Craft Cleaners Ltd, for damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained as a result of alleged sexual assault and assault and battery allegedly perpetrated by Mr Hoey.
She has alleged that throughout her 19-year employment with his company, Mr Hoey regularly touched her arms and shoulders, fondled her buttocks, touched her from behind and put his hand between her legs.
It is claimed that, from the time she began working there at the age of 14, in 1980, until she left her job in 1999, she was subjected to repeated assaults, battery, infliction of emotional suffering, intimidation and abuse of a verbal, physical and sexual nature at the hands of Mr Hoey.
The defendants deny the claims. The case resumes on Tuesday before Mr Justice Paul Gilligan.
