Rape accused arrested at Dublin Airport remanded in custody

A man arrested at Dublin Airport allegedly trying to flee the country to avoid rape charges has been remanded in continuing custody after appearing before court in Limerick today.

At an earlier court hearing, gardaí said they believed the man, a native of the Ivory Coast, was trying to board a flight from Dublin Airport to Morocco last June to avoid the then-pending rape charges.

The 26-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was previously refused bail after he was subsequently charged with two counts of raping a woman at an apartment in Limerick city centre last year.

The offences are alleged to have happened over several hours at the man’s home on July 8, 2013.

During a contested bail hearing on June 23, Judge Eugene O’Kelly was told directions were received from the Director of Public Prosecutions but that gardaí had been unable to locate the defendant.

Detective Garda Ivan Muldoon said he called to the home of the accused man on several occasions and told acquaintances of the man that gardaí were looking to locate him.

When he presented at the airport boarding gate, it was discovered the flight tickets had been bought with a “compromised United States credit card,” which could not be explained by the defendant, Det Garda Muldoon said.

He added that he believed the suspect was aware that gardaí had been seeking him for several weeks and that he was attempting to flee the jurisdiction.

“I believe he knew I was looking for him, I believe that’s why he was leaving the country,” Det Garda Muldoon told the June court hearing.

In direct evidence, the accused man denied this, and said he had intended travelling to Morocco for four days to buy clothing for the upcoming Muslim Ramadan.

Today in court, Sergeant Donal Cronin, Henry Street Garda station, said, the State would be due to serve a Book of Evidence on the accused later this week.

The accused was remanded in continuing custody to appear before the District Court again for presentation of the Book of Evidence on Thursday.