Man accused of raping young woman near UCC and later sending Instagram follow request

The woman is alleged to have been raped in her home in an area around University College Cork.

A book of evidence was served on a 22-year-old man accused of raping a young woman in her home in the area around University College Cork during a break-in and later sending her a follow request by Instagram.

Sergeant Pat Lyons confirmed service of the book of evidence on the accused man.

The sergeant then applied to have the case sent forward for trial at the Central Criminal Court.

Judge Olann Kelleher acceded to that application and remanded the accused in custody.

Defence solicitor, Killian McCarthy, applied to have legal aid extended to include a senior counsel as well as a junior counsel to represent him for his trial at the Central Criminal Court. The judge acceded to that defence application.

Detective Garda John Paul Twomey previously outlined the allegations in the case against the young man who was charged with trespassing with intent to commit rape, assault causing harm to the young woman, sexual assault, and rape.

'He was looking for a female to rape'

During the objection to bail, Det Garda Twomey said it was alleged that the defendant parked his car in the area at 5am.

 “It is believed he was looking for a female to rape. It was Rag Week in the college. It is believed he was looking for an intoxicated female,” the detective said.

Det Garda Twomey of the Garda Protective Services Unit objected to bail being granted to the accused, saying that gardaí were of the view that there was a risk of further offences of a similar nature being committed by the accused. The prosecution also believed that the accused would not turn up to stand trial if granted bail.

Mr McCarthy, solicitor, said the defendant had been questioned in March about the allegations in this case which relate to March 1 and that he was aware of the allegations and the possibility of serious charges being brought, but he did not try to leave the jurisdiction. 

Trespassing at four properties

Det Garda Twomey agreed that this was so.

Back in March, the accused man was charged with trespassing at four other houses in the area of UCC with intent to commit an offence on the same night as this alleged rape.

Det Garda Twomey said it was alleged that the accused entered the house on March 1 without consent and that while there he raped and sexually assaulted the woman and also committed the offence of assault causing harm.

“Gardaí at Anglesea Street received a call from a female in a distressed state after 7am that morning. She said she woke to find an unknown male in her bedroom,” Det Garda Twomey said.

The detective said CCTV harvested from 41 properties in the area of UCC showed the defendant breaking into four other houses that night/early morning and trying to open doors of several other properties.

The detective said the complainant, who is in her twenties, received a follow request from the defendant on Instagram following the alleged rape.