Rape accused ‘was jogging after two 15-year-old girls’

A man accused of raping a woman with Down syndrome was spotted by gardaí jogging behind two 15-year- old girls two days after the alleged rape, a trial has heard.

The 34-year-old man is accused of luring the woman back to his house and raping her after she became separated from her mother on the street.

The man admits there was some sexual contact with the woman but maintains that it was consensual and that he did not know she had a disability.

He has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, sexual assault, and having sex with a mentally impaired person at his Dublin home on June 12, 2013.

Giving evidence on day 14 of the trial, Garda Fiona Morrison told the court that, two days after the alleged rape, she spotted the accused speaking to two girls.

She told prosecuting counsel Caroline Biggs SC that the accused started walking behind the girls. Gda Morrison said the girls were walking “briskly” before they stopped in a doorway.

The garda walked on before she heard a girl scream and saw the two teenagers sprinting away. She said she saw the accused jogging but that he stopped when he saw her standing in the street.

The trial continues.