Woman in alleged defilement case ‘doesn’t hold grudge’, Irish celebrity says

The accused told the court: 'We kept in touch, eventually there was a physical element to that relationship.'

The Irish celebrity has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17 at locations in Dublin on dates between August and December 2010. File picture

An Irish celebrity accused of the defilement of a 16-year-old girl over a decade ago said he accepts the complainant does not hold a grudge against him.

Under cross-examination on Monday, the man, aged 40, agreed with Eilis Brennan, prosecuting, that the woman is “someone who doesn’t have a grudge” against him.

He added he thought she might have been upset after they met at a festival in Spain in 2012. This was “the first time we had been fully intimate together”.

He said she expressed upset “as I hadn’t contacted her in the aftermath”. He said he left his phone behind, but later sent her a message to apologise.

The man has pleaded not guilty to three counts of engaging in sexual acts with a child under the age of 17 at locations in Dublin on dates between August and December 2010.

He denied Ms Brennan’s suggestion that the complainant was telling the truth about the alleged incident at his workplace.

Ms Brennan put it to him that his evidence that he was never in the stairwell of this building was “unbelievable”. He replied that he used another staircase.

She also suggested the “only plausible” version of events is the one put forward by the complainant. The man replied: “I disagree”.

Ms Brennan suggested that his evidence that the woman had not been to his house “to the best of his recollection” could mean she could have been at the house, but he could not recall. He replied: “She wasn’t there”.

The man said he met the woman in early March 2011 for lunch, before he moved abroad. He said they kept in touch occasionally by text.

Ms Brennan asked if it was “unusual” that he “made time” to meet the woman before he moved abroad, “given you’d only met her twice before”. He said the woman had “reached out” and he invited her to visit his office.

Ms Brennan put it to the man that he “made a lot of time for this girl”. He replied: “I wouldn’t say that was a lot of time. I said: ‘I’m here if you want to swing by’.” 

The accused said: “I don’t think I had a specific categorisation” when asked about his relationship with the complainant and why he decided to stay in touch.

He said she told him she was 18 and was interested in media. He said a lot of people had given him advice and help, and “I was happy to meet her on that basis”.

“We kept in touch, eventually there was a physical element to that relationship.”

When asked if he had gone to a room in a hotel with the woman in December 2011, the man said: “Absolutely not”.

The trial continues.