Alleged raped victim treated with nothing but respect, accused tells trial

One of three Dublin men who claim they each had consensual sex with a woman in a car has told a jury that he and his two “gentlemen friends” treated the alleged rape victim with respect on the night.

The three men, who are now in their early 20s and who cannot be named for legal reasons, have pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to raping the woman at Bull Island, Dollymount, Dublin on January 5, 2016.

The trial has heard that the then 18-year-old woman was allegedly driven to Dollymount Strand, raped by three men in turn and then left in the middle of nowhere.

The three men were all teenagers at the time of the alleged offences.

Under cross-examination, one of the accused men told Anne-Marie Lawlor SC, prosecuting, that he had never met the woman before the date of the alleged offences.

The man said that the woman was very enthusiastic to have sex and was confident.

He said that the woman told her friend four days later over Facebook that she was addicted to sex.

Ms Lawlor asked if he thought that her saying she was addicted to sex meant she cannot be raped.

The man replied that she was not raped and that he does not think she was ever raped.

He said there are around one hundred accusations, and that he would never mistreat a woman and that he is an innocent man.

He said the woman is trying to ruin his life, that he has never disrespected a woman and never will.

He said that while driving to Dollymount, the woman said she had “loads of lube” and that she hoped they had condoms.

He said that he cannot remember every conversation they had in the car and that they were hardly going to be talking about sex “for fucking seven minutes”.

He then apologised for cursing.

Ms Lawlor put it to the man that there was no discussion about lubricant by the woman when they were driving to Dollymount.

“That's what you think,” the man replied. He said that he was telling the truth and and said the complainant “is after being caught out lying a million times”.

Counsel put it to the man that he never thought a homeless woman who was addicted to tablets would follow this case through.

He rejected this suggestion, said nothing happened to the woman and that she was treated with nothing but respect by himself and his “two gentlemen friends”.

Mr Justice Alexander Owens commented that it was not something that would happen every day of the week that someone offered to have sex with three people.

The man agreed that it was not and said it was probably because the woman was addicted to sex.

Mr Justice Owens asked the accused if he took the view during an interview with gardaí that the detective did not do his job well enough.

The man agreed and said it was because the detective was basically arresting people that did not rape someone and “it is just wrong”.

Ms Lawlor asked if he was affected by the detective saying in interview that he believed the woman.

The man replied that he was “angry, really angry”.

The man said that after the alleged events, he received a phone call from an acquaintance who later arrived in a second car.

He said he could not say the name of that person and told Ms Lawlor “that's my final answer”.

Asked why he could not say this person's name, the man told Ms Lawlor that his life would be under threat if he did so.

The trial continues in evidence before Mr Justice Owens and a jury.