Cork man found not guilty of raping girl when they were both 17

Accused had maintained sexual intercourse was consensual

Accused broke down in tears after the unanimous verdict was delivered and he was embraced by members of his family. File picture: Larry Cummins

A jury of four women and eight men took five hours and 39 minutes to return a verdict in the case against a young Cork man of not guilty of raping a girl when both of them were 17 years old.

At the Central Criminal Court sitting in Cork, Ms Justice Siobhán Lankford thanked the jurors for the attention they had given the case, which commenced last week, and told them their participation was essential for the administration of justice.

The accused broke down in tears after the unanimous verdict was delivered and he was embraced by members of his family.

They heard evidence from the complainant — who was 17 at the time — that she told her mother what happened: “I said to my mam, I think I was raped. Gardaí came up… I felt confused. I felt violated. I had a mix of emotions. I was angry. I was just all over the place.” 

At that time she said she did not want to make a statement of complaint of rape. She added: “After a few days I decided to make an official report.” 

Alice Fawcett, senior counsel for the defence, cross-examined the complainant, stating: “The defendant was interviewed by gardaí. He acknowledged he had sexual intercourse with you but he said it was consensual. 

"There is a lot of agreement between you about what went on on the night. He says you and he went for a smoke and ye went behind the container and ye were kissing. He said, ‘my hands were on her, her hands on me’.” 

The witness replied: “No. My hands were by my side.” 

She also disputed the account given by the accused in relation to how the sexual intercourse occurred where the accused said: “I took down my pants. She took down her pants. After two or three minutes she told me it started to hurt. 

"I asked if she wanted to stop so I stopped. Then we went back to kissing. We went back to our friends after a while.” 

The disputed offence at the centre of the case related to an incident in Cork back on August 7, 2020, when both parties were aged 17.

There is a legal prohibition on identification of parties in the case.