Drink ‘clouds city rape trials’

MOST Limerick rape trials fail to secure convictions due to the alarming amount of alcohol consumed by those involved, a leading lawyer claimed yesterday.

Limerick juries have returned guilty verdicts in all 13 trials held in the Central Criminal Courts sitting in the city, which involved violent death, but Court Service figures show that only one conviction has been secured in the six rape trials held in the city.

A leading barrister who specialises in criminal law, who asked not to be named, said: “In many cases where rape is alleged there has been an alarming level of alcohol taken by the parties. And unless there is some corroborative evidence such as bruising or torn clothes, Limerick juries are very slow to bring in a guilty verdict in rape trials.”