Garda hunt for gang after roadside rape of woman

DETECTIVES investigating the rape of a young woman on an isolated country road have appealed to three men who witnessed but did not take part in the assault to come forward.

The 24-year-old was walking home alone after a night out with friends when she was attacked and subjected to what gardaí described as a vicious assault.

Four men in a dark- coloured car spotted the young woman as she walked towards the Co Monaghan village of Doohamlet around 3am on Sunday after a night out with friends in Castleblaney. The young woman had been unable to get a taxi in the town.

The car was travelling in the opposite direction but stopped when they spotted the woman. Two of the men jumped out, ran across the road and accosted her.

She was raped by the roadside by one of the men. Earlier reports that she was held for more than an hour are incorrect.

The rape has deeply shocked the tight-knit community of Doohamlet, particularly as it is believed those who carried out the attack may be from the area.

Superintendent Tom Long, who is heading the investigation into the assault, has appealed to the consciences of the three who witnessed the attack to contact the gardaí.

“I am asking the individuals who were in the car but did not take part in the assault to come forward, in strictest confidence, to the gardaí at the incident room in Castleblaney,” he said.

“This young lady was walking home alone around 3am on Sunday when four men stopped in a car. Two of them got out and one of them viciously attacked this young lady and sexually assaulted her,” said Supt Long.

“It was a totally unprovoked attack and a serious sexual assault that took place.”

He appealed to anyone in the area between 1.30am and 4am on Sunday, particularly anybody who may have seen a struggle taking place where a car had stopped.

“There is great concern in the area that these culprits are brought to justice,” said Supt Long.

Gardaí believe the four men may be from the area and yesterday conducted house to house inquiries as part of the investigation.

CCTV footage from various premises in the area, including nightclubs and garage forecourts, is also being studied in a bid to pinpoint the movement of the car they believe was used by the attackers.

DNA samples taken from the victim at the sexual assault unit at Dublin’s Rotunda Hospital, where the girl was taken after she had been examined in Castleblaney, will also be made available to the garda team.

A driver who arrived on the scene after the gang of four left brought the deeply distressed woman to nearby Ballybay, where she reported the assault, first to her sister and then to gardaí.