Paramedic denies sex assault on volunteer

A paramedic told gardaí that he used a choke manoeuvre with his girlfriend during sex in an intimate setting without knocking her out.

At Ennis Circuit Court, the 34-year-old denied using a choke manoeuvre on a female volunteer of the Civil Defence in the back of an ambulance in February 2013.

He also denied to gardaí all allegations of sexual assault against the 24-year-old Civil Defence volunteer.

In an interview with gardaí in November 2014, Det Garda Bernard Casey asked the man did he know the manoeuvre of placing a woman’s hands on her neck cutting off her air supply.

Det Casey asked him: “Have you ever done it with anyone else?” He replied: “With my girlfriend during sex in an intimate setting without knocking her out.”

In the case, the woman said that she lost consciousness as a result of the choking in the back of the ambulance and the paramedic placed her on a trolley.

She said the paramedic unbuttoned her shirt and moved her bra up off the her chest and started to kiss her and put his tongue in her mouth.

The man said he was “shocked” by the allegations when first put to him. He said when he was informed by his superiors of the allegations: “I nearly dropped into the ground. I never touched the woman.”

The trial continues today.