Irish firefighter in Boston for St Patrick’s Day charged with rape

Terrence Crosbie has been ordered not to leave Massachusetts and to surrender his passport.

An Irish firefighter has been charged with raping a woman while he was in Boston for the St Patrick’s Day festival.

Terrence Crosbie, 37, from Dublin, was charged with one count of rape and held on $100,000 (€92,000) bail.

Mr Crosbie, who is a member of the Dublin Fire Brigade, has been ordered not to leave Massachusetts and to surrender his passport.

The arrest took place on the tarmac of Logan Airport on Saturday after he booked a flight to return home. Mr Crosbie had flown to Boston from Ireland on Thursday with members of Dublin Fire Brigade and was due to leave on Tuesday.

He was interviewed by police on Saturday and afterwards booked a flight for 10.10pm that night. At the airport, he boarded an earlier flight scheduled to depart at about 7pm. 

Police learned he was leaving the country and stopped the plane before removing him from the aircraft.

The charges emerged after a 28-year-old woman attended Massachusetts General Hospital where she claimed she had been sexually assaulted at the Omni Parker House that morning.

CCTV was seized by police at The Black Rose, a bar and restaurant in Boston where she had been on Thursday evening with Mr Crosbie.

Mr Crosbie is due back in court on April 16 for a probable cause hearing.

Suffolk District Attorney Kevin Hayden said in a statement: "As always in these matters, the willingness of the victim to come forward is crucial. This victim deserves enormous credit for doing that in this case. I’m grateful for the alertness of police in finding out that Mr Crosbie was attempting to leave the country."

In a statement to the Irish Examiner, Dublin Fire Brigade said its chief fire officer “has been made aware that the Boston Police Department have begun a criminal investigation into an alleged serious case involving a member of Dublin Fire Brigade".

“The firefighter has immediately been placed on leave.

“We cannot comment on the specific circumstances, but we would reiterate the high standards that we expect from all who represent our organisation at any event.

“As a result, we are conducting an internal investigation and establishing the facts in collaboration with the appropriate authorities and the organisers of the delegation.

“As this is a criminal investigation, we will not be making any further comment at this time.”