Rape accused said he never heard of Down syndrome

A 34-year-old man accused of raping a woman with Down syndrome told gardaí after his arrest that he had never heard of the condition.

He also denied having sex with anyone on the day in question but said that he frequently had sex with women he met on the street.

The trial has heard that the woman, who is in her 20s, became separated from her mother while out walking. The accused found her and took her to his Dublin home, where the alleged rape took place on June 12, 2013.

The accused now admits there was some sexual contact with the woman, but maintains it was consensual and that he did not know she was mentally impaired.

He has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, sexual assault, and having sex with a mentally impaired person .

Lorcan Staines, prosecuting, read out the transcripts of three Garda interviews with the accused .

When it was put to him he raped someone with Down syndrome the man, a foreign national, said he had never heard of the condition .

He repeatedly told gardaí to “bring this person in front of me face to face” and said “this person is a bad person”.

“It’s an awful act you’ve done,” Det Garda Brian Murray put it to him. “To do it to a person you’ve done it to is incredible. You’re a sick man. You’re a sick, sick, sick man.”

“I am a true man,” the accused replied, adding: “I never make any woman have sex with me.”

The trial continues .