A jury in the trial of a Waterford couple accused of abusing their child in the four years leading up to 2011 has begun its deliberations.
The boy, whoÂ’s now 12, made over 80 allegations against his parents but a large portion of the charges were withdrawn earlier this week.
The boy was taken into care when he was 8.
He claims the abuse happened at the family home in Waterford between 2007 and 2011.
At the beginning of the trial, the couple faced 82 charges of abuse and neglect but thatÂ’s since been reduced to 22.
Over half of the withdrawn charges related to allegations of sexual exploitation.
His father now faces nine counts of raping the boy, nine counts of raping him with a fire poker and one count of cruelty, while his mother faces two counts of sexual assault and one count of cruelty.
During his evidence, the boy admitted telling a social worker and a Garda that the allegations werenÂ’t real, but he said that was only to get out of the court case.
The jurors began their deliberations this morning.
