Cork trial of two boys accused of raping girl at race meeting halted after two jurors became ill

The trial is set to resume at 11am on Wednesday. Picture: Larry Cummins

Two jurors fell ill on Tuesday in the trial of a 13-year-old boy and a 15-year-old boy accused of raping a 16-year-old girl at a Christmas race meeting in Limerick.

And a medical doctor who had just commenced giving evidence in the case at the Central Criminal Court in Cork left the witness box and provided them with medical assistance.

The two incidents were not connected. One man fainted very shortly after the case commenced on Tuesday. Some time later, another man on the jury became ill and had to be taken to hospital.

Dr Aoife Fanning, a GP who was giving evidence as part of her role as a Sexual Assault Treatment Unit examiner, provided medical assistance to both jurors at different times in the course of the morning/early afternoon.

Mr Justice Paul McDermott sent the whole jury away in the afternoon and the case is set to resume at 11am on Wednesday. The case opened a week ago before a jury of nine women and three men.

The two defendants — now aged 15 and 17 — are both charged with raping and sexually assaulting the teenager at a St Stephen’s Day race meeting at Limerick racecourse. A third boy is accused of aiding and abetting the first two defendants in carrying out these offences, and he is also charged with falsely imprisoning the girl.

It is alleged the contested incidents occurred in a car in a field car park at Limerick racecourse at Patrickswell, Co Limerick, on December 26, 2023.

All three accused have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Dean Kelly, prosecution senior counsel, said in his opening of the case that the three defendants and the complainant were all in the pavilion at the racecourse that afternoon and ended up chatting together.

“All four of them ended up leaving the pavilion and going to a car in a field being used as a car park. It is the prosecution case that [first defendant] had sexual intercourse with her, plainly against her will. It is the prosecution case that [second defendant] did the same, and that within the same period of time they engaged in sexualised touching of [complainant].

“It is the prosecution case that they were assisted in that enterprise — depriving her of her liberty — by [third defendant],” Mr Kelly said.