Rape victim picks man out of identification parade

The man accused of raping a Cork woman in her home town was picked out by her in an identification parade involving 10 other men, a Central Criminal Court jury has heard.

Sergeant Paul Barry told prosecuting counsel, Mr Patrick J McCarthy SC, that the woman became very distressed when she entered the room and was looking in the direction of the accused.

She said she knew it was him although he did not have stubble on the night of the alleged attack and requested that he say: "Shut up or I'll kill you".

Sgt Barry said that after he had repeated this she said: "His eyes and voice are the same and he scares me. I don't want to say it's him because I'm afraid."

Peace Commissioner, Mr Maurice Joyce told the jury he was asked to observe the parade and noticed all the men were of similar build and stature. He thought there were six or eight men in the parade but there might have been 10.

Mr Joyce agreed with Mr Ciaran O'Loughlin SC, defending, that he thought the woman seemed very nervous and unsure of herself and said he heard her say she was not certain if it was the accused who attacked her.

The 35-year-old accused has pleaded not guilty to one charge of rape and one charge of anal rape against the woman in Cork on September 3, 2000.

Sgt Barry told Mr McCarthy (with Mr Sean Gillane BL) he asked 10 men from Mitchelstown to take part in the parade. He chose these men based on their physical similarity to the accused. When they arrived at the station, the accused was brought in and stood in the middle of the line.

The complainant was then brought in and became very upset. All the men turned to the left and right and she asked to see the accused's left hand. She approached to within three feet of him.

Sgt Barry said the closer the woman got to the accused, the more upset she became and was visibly trembling. He soon moved her back to her original position.

Sgt Barry told Mr O'Loughlin he did not know why Mr Joyce had said the accused was asked to say "If you scream, I'll fucking kill you" but said his own notes might have been more contemporaneous than Mr Joyce's.

The trial will continue tomorrow before Mr Justice Diarmuid O'Donovan and a jury of five women and seven men.