The defendant, who cannot be named to protect the identity of his alleged victim, appeared for the first day of his trial at an in-camera sitting of Wicklow Circuit Criminal Court on Wednesday, January 28.
The accused is charged with one count of sexual assault.
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News in 90 seconds – Thursday 29th January
The case opened with counsel for the prosecution, James Kelly BL, acting on behalf of State solicitor Brian Robinson, addressing the jury, which was made up of 10 men and two women.
Mr Kelly explained the process involved in a criminal trial and outlined the charge before the court. He told the jury that “sexual assault is something that is unwanted and an assault in circumstances of indecency”.
He further outlined that the case was likely to turn on the issue of consent, telling the jury, “I am giving you the guard rails on which to consider the evidence,” before explaining how consent is defined and applied in law.
The victim testified that on the day of the alleged sexual assault in 2023, she finished work late at night and received a message from a friend asking if she wanted to go for drinks at a local pub. A family member dropped an outfit to her workplace before a colleague dropped her to the pub.
The victim stated she was wearing a t-shirt, a denim jacket and a dress. A photograph of her wearing the outfit was handed into court, as she had worn the clothes two days previously.
She recalled drinking three drinks, noting that she was mindful of her alcohol intake as she had not eaten. “I didn’t have any soakage, so I was very careful of what I drank.”
The court heard that she met two male friends and the accused, whom she knew through friends of friends. She described her interaction with the defendant as “friendly”, adding, “we were getting to know each other better”.
The group left the bar at 2am and walked towards the victim’s home, as the other three lived nearby. It was further heard that the pair shared a kiss while sitting on a wall before continuing towards her home.
Both of her friends went to their own houses, leaving the accused to walk her home.
“This was normal, as I had no reason not to trust him,” the victim said.
The pair entered her estate, where the accused sat down beside a wall and she joined him. The two began kissing, which she said was consensual, before she alleged the defendant placed his hand on her thigh and then moved his hand inside her underwear.
It is alleged he proceeded to penetrate her with his fingers, while they were still kissing.
The alleged sexual assault lasted between two and three minutes, with the victim stating, “it felt like an hour”.
She told the court she received a message on her fitness watch, which is connected to her phone, at 2.45am, stating: “It’s getting late and I’m getting worried.”
The court was told that after the incident, the defendant continued to walk her to the end of her driveway. The victim stated she gave him a quick hug before going inside.
The prosecution alleges that the defendant had contact with the victim via Snapchat prior to the alleged sexual assault.
She reported the alleged assault to gardaí several weeks later, after rumours and stories began circulating. She told the court she had discussed the incident with the accused via Snapchat.
Mr Kelly noted that Snapchat deletes messages after they are read unless they are “saved in chat”.
The court heard that the victim received a message from the accused the day after the alleged incident, stating: “I’m sorry if anything that happened last night made you uncomfortable.”
The victim later saw the accused in her workplace, on the day she gave her statement to gardaí, accompanied by another female. The pair were reportedly eating when the victim requested that management have him removed.
The victim’s manager contacted her mother, who brought her to a garda station in Wicklow, where she gave a statement. She told the court she had requested an apology from the accused as she wanted to “put it under the rug”, which she alleged was refused.
The court also heard that the pair allegedly shared an exchange in a local pub following the incident, after it is alleged that “two females were spreading rumours about the accused”.
The defendant’s issue, the court was told, was that the victim was allegedly telling others that he had pinned her down and raped her.
She denied the allegation that she had told anyone that version of events.
Mr Kelly remarked that she did not have any physical marks or injuries following the alleged assault.
During cross-examination, defence counsel Justin McQuade, instructed by Brendan Maloney Solicitors, questioned the day the victim made her statement, remarking on how events transpired before she made her report to gardaí.
The court was told that the victim knew the woman who was with the defendant at her workplace, with Mr McQuade remarking on whether she had seen the defendant rubbing the woman on her thigh and hand.
The court was told that the victim alleged she had made her mother aware of the allegations, but that she told a work friend first as she was not comfortable telling her mother.
Her statement was put to her and the fact that it did not state whether her mother was aware of the details of the incident. The victim said that she told her mother and believed it was mentioned during interview.
It is alleged by the accused that the pair had a consensual kiss on the night in question, with counsel for the defence questioning why the victim was not upset after the alleged assault occurred.
“Everyone copes with things differently,” remarked the victim, adding, “I just wanted to go home and go asleep.”
Mr McQuade told the court that in her statement the victim said that she and the accused were flirting the previous night before the alleged sexual assault.
The court was told that the defence stance is that she did not object to his hand on her thigh and had given the defendant a kiss before entering her house.
Mr McQuade stated that the alleged injured party was a willing participant and that the accused denies the allegation that he “digitally penetrated her”.
The victim said: “I was paralysed and couldn’t move, you wouldn’t understand,” adding, “all you can do is sit there and become a victim”.
Counsel argued that she was able to get up and go home after the alleged incident.
She stated that a kiss is not consent, with the defence stating that she continued the kiss after he put his hand on the inside of her leg and that it was “evolving contact between two parties”.
She remarked that consent can be withdrawn at any time.
In response, Mr McQuade said: “This isn’t an op-ed in the Irish Times, this is two young people kissing on the side of the road.”
The court heard that in her statement she stated she pushed the accused away.
The pair continued a “streak” on the social media app Snapchat after the incident for several weeks.
“Were there feelings of jealousy or rejection due to the accused’s romance with another woman?” said Mr McQuade. The victim denied this was true.
The court heard that the complainant and the accused shared mutual friends, who spoke about the incident.
Rumours began spreading about the accused and what he was alleged to have done, though the complainant said she was unaware of how much attention it was getting within her social circle, as she “did not leave the house much after the incident”.
Defence counsel asked whether she had threatened to go to gardaí unless she “got her way”. The victim told the court that she only wanted to clear the air, but accepted that she may have made this threat two or three times.
The court was told that gardaí informed her that obtaining Snapchat phone data would cost around €20,000, with Mr McQuade remarking that Mr Maloney would make a note of that and that it would be put to the investigating garda during cross-examination.
The trial is due to continue with further witnesses on Thursday, January 22.
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