Man on trial accused of raping older male in doorway

A man in his 60s who was allegedly raped and sexually assaulted by a young man when he was lying on a duvet on the street in the early hours told a garda at the scene that morning he had told the other man to stop but he refused to do so.

Man on trial accused of raping older male in doorway

A man in his 60s who was allegedly raped and sexually assaulted by a young man when he was lying on a duvet on the street in the early hours told a garda at the scene that morning he had told the other man to stop but he refused to do so.

A 30-year-old-man is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork on charges of raping and sexually assaulting the older man after 1am on May 30, 2017. Garda Sheena Dowling testified today that she responded to a call to the scene of the alleged incident and arrived moments later, at 1.26am on May 30, 2017.

Garda Dowling told the court” “On arrival I observed two males outside the door on a white duvet. They were on the footpath. [Complainant] was sitting up. The second male, [defendant’s name], was lying on his left side facing the doorway. [Defendant] was lying down, [complainant] was sitting up. I knew both of them.

“[Complainant’s] pants and underpants were pulled down at the front to mid-thigh. At the back they were pulled down to knee level. I spoke to [complainant]. He informed me of what happened.

“There was a camera facing where the two gentlemen were lying at the time… [Defendant] could not remember. His behaviour at the time was extremely erratic… He was intoxicated. I feared he was a danger to himself or others. I arrested him for intoxication in a public place at 2.20am.”

Garda Dowling said the accused did not wish to make a formal complaint on the night but would speak to gardaí the following day. He declined the offer to be taken to the sexual assault treatment unit.

Blaise O’Carroll, defence senior counsel, asked why Garda Dowling did not arrest the man for rape rather than being drunk and a danger. She said she felt the intoxication charge was appropriate on the night and that the other charge could be brought at a later time.

Mr O’Carroll SC said that, on the basis of what Garda Dowling said she saw on the CCTV — the complainant being fondled at the back and front by a man who appeared to take out his penis — she had grounds to arrest the suspect on a rape charge.

The defence senior counsel said the complainant’s first statement on the night could not have been more definitive:

I do not wish to make a formal complaint. I don’t wish the guards to investigate.

Garda Dowling said he also said he would talk to gardaí the next day. Garda Dowling also said that she noted in her notebook at the scene of the incident.

“He said he was awake and asked this male to stop what he was doing and he refused to do so,” she told the court. “He said he was awake and he [the other man] was fondling him back and front. I told him to stop. He said he was not penetrated.”

The guard asked him if he had consented at the time, he said: “No and I told him to stop.”

Garda Dowling said that, in her opinion, the complainant was sober when he was talking to her at around 2am that morning.

The trial continues tomorrow before Mr Justice Paul McDermott at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.

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