THE BROTHER of a woman allegedly raped by an older man said he had “never seen her so upset” as when she told her family what had happened to her.

Her alleged attacker John Whelan, 64, denies indecent assault, rape of a child, oral rape of a child under-13, and sexual assault of a child under 13 by touching

Yesterday, the brother of Whelan’s younger alleged victim, who claims she was assaulted in the early 2000s, told jurors at Swindon Crown Court that the woman explained what had gone on at a family meeting in January 2019.

“She was distraught,” her brother, 30s, said.

“I’d never seen her so upset and I found it hard because I’ve never really had a proper relationship with her; she’s always been so distant.

“I found that hard because I was the one trying to help her, but prior to that over the years we haven’t really been that close.”

He told the court he had managed to persuade her to go to the police.

Whelan’s second alleged victim heard about that complaint from her mother in late February. The woman’s mum, 50s, told jurors on Monday afternoon: “She just went very, very quiet and she sat there for a minute or two and said ‘I’ve got to get away’ and went to work.”

Around 20 to 30 minutes later her daughter called her, she said. “She phoned me to say something had happened to her as well and she felt she couldn’t keep it in any longer.”

Prosecutors claim the girl was sexually abused by Whelan as he babysat her. The defendant’s barrister, Clare Evans, asked the mother: “You had no concerns about your client being looked after by [my client and his wife]?” No, the woman replied.

Whelan, of Stamford Close, Toothill, denies indecent assault, rape of a child, oral rape of a child under-13, and sexual assault of a child under 13 by touching. The trial continues.