Jury in Cork trial should not have been told of Google search for ‘rape kit accuracy’, appeal told

The appeal also heard that the "excessive" number of times her client was asked a direct question by the judge meant that, in effect, there had been “two prosecutors” at the trial

At the Court of Appeal on Thursday, Siobhan Lankford SC, for the appellant, said other Google searches made by her client after he was told a complaint of rape had been made to gardaí against him included ‘rape kit accuracy’, ‘is drunk sex considered rape?’, and ‘girl rape drunk’. File photo

Google searches for ‘rape kit accuracy’ made by a man after an allegation of rape was made against him were of “limited relevance” and should not have been presented to the jury at his trial, the Court of Appeal was told on Thursday.

The 29-year-old man had pleaded not guilty to one count of rape against a 17-year-old female at an address in Midleton, Co. Cork, in August 2017. A jury, however, convicted him of the offence following a trial in September 2020 at the Central Criminal Court in Cork.