Donegal man found not guilty of rape

A jury of 10 woman and two men has acquitted Donegal man accused of raping a woman who said she had earlier snorted cocaine while socialising in a Dublin city centre late-night drinking venue.

The Central Criminal Court jury, which also heard expert testimony that there was no forensic evidence of rape, reached its not guilty verdicts after some seven hours deliberation.

The 37 year-old accused had denied raping and sexually assaulting the Cork woman on January 30, 2005.

Mr Justice Liam McKechnie thanked the jury, which spent one night in a hotel, for its careful consideration of the case and told the accused he was free to leave the court.

The hearing continued over five days and was a retrial, a previous jury having disagreed last May following five hours deliberation and having also spent one in a hotel before announcing it was too deadlocked to reach any verdict.

The woman told prosecuting counsel, Mr Denis Vaughan Buckley SC (with Ms Cathleen Noctor BL), that she met the accused who was with friends she was socialising with in Dublin city centre before flying to the US two days later.

She told how she consumed several "alcopops" and snorted a line of cocaine while the party was in Renards Niteclub. They had more drinks later in a friend's bedsit before she went to bed there and said she awoke to find the man having sex with her.

Forensic scientist Ms Jennifer Ryan told defence counsel, Mr Richard Lyons SC (with Mr Eoin Hardiman BL) she found no evidence of semen when she examined pubic hair and items of the woman's clothing.

A Donegal man charged with raping a woman who said she had earlier snorted cocaine told gardaí he stopped having sex with her "when she told me to stop" after she asked him if he had "any protection".

Garda Louise Heffernan said the accused man had himself contacted the gardaí voluntarily when he was informed by friends about the woman's allegations and had co-operated "in every way".

Gda Heffernan said the accused claimed the woman had been flirting with him while they socialised and had been sitting on his knee in the bedsit before she retired to bed.

He said he woke up with his leg up on her bed and the complainant's hand on it . He said he put his hand on hers before he got up on to the bed where they began hugging and then kissing and that afterwards "one thing led to another".

The accused told gardaí he penetrated her once but that he stopped after she said she had no protection and he told her he did not have a condom either.

Gda Heffernan said the accused agreed he had not "asked her for permission to have sex with her" but said he stopped when she said she had no protection. He said they continued kissing after that but that "things went cold" and they both dressed themselves.

The accused told gardaí that another girl whom he knew then advised him to leave the bedsit and said that she would "sort this out".

He said he did not know what was going on and he saw the complainant speaking to two other men who were also in the apartment.

Gda Heffernan said the accused maintained that the complainant had not shouted at him at any time and he was aware she had a boyfriend.

He agreed her statement which was read to him differed from his account but repeated that his replies in the interview were correct.