Woman denies consensual sexual contact with accused men as rape trial continues

This article contains references to rape and sexual assault. Reader discretion is advised.

By Eimear Dodd

A woman has rejected suggestions from defence counsel for two of the three men accused of raping and sexually assaulting her that there was consensual sexual contact with their clients.

The three men, aged between 34 and 42, with addresses in Dublin and Wicklow, have pleaded not guilty to a total of seven counts of rape, oral rape and sexual assault of the woman at an unknown location in a car and in a Dublin house on August 31, 2019.

The men cannot be named for legal reasons.

In her direct evidence on Wednesday, the woman said she was out socialising with a friend when she got talking to three men at a Dublin nightclub. She remained at the club after her friend left and said she believed she’d been drugged as her recollections after this point are limited and “hazy”.

She gave evidence of being raped twice in a vehicle, which she believed to be a taxi, and of being in a bed in a house with a man on top of her.  She said she woke up “panicking” the next morning in bed with a man sleeping beside her, then left the house.

Padraig Dwyer SC, representing the first accused man, told the woman his client was the man she woke up beside.

This man, aged 39, with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in his home address and not (NOT) guilty to one count of oral rape and one count of sexually assaulting her in a car.

CCTV footage was shown to the woman, who told Mr Dwyer she hadn’t seen it beforehand. The compilation included footage from inside the club of the three accused and the woman later walking towards a car and the car’s journey towards the home of the 39-year-old man.

She disagreed with Mr Dwyer’s contention that CCTV from inside the nightclub showed she was steady on her feet.

He put it to her that she didn’t appear extremely intoxicated. She disagreed with this suggestion, saying the footage showed her “extremely drunk”, but she had no memory of this.

She also rejected his suggestion that this footage showed her dancing “intimately” with the three accused at various times.  “I was dancing. They were dancing. They were strangers, there was no intimacy,” she replied.

She agreed with Mr Dwyer that she didn’t appear distressed in the nightclub footage, adding that it looked like she was having fun, but there was no invitation for anything else.

Mr Dwyer noted the woman said in her direct evidence there was a white substance nearby. She told counsel she couldn’t remember if she consumed any of this or if she told a garda on August 31, 2019, that she had.

Counsel noted toxicology analysis showed cocaine in her system, and the woman said she didn’t remember if she had consumed any.

The woman rejected Mr Dwyer’s suggestion that CCTV from outside the club and nearby streets showed she voluntarily went with the three men. She replied that she couldn’t remember but felt they may have offered to drop her home.

Mr Dwyer outlined his client’s version of events that there was consensual sexual activity between him and the woman in the car and later at his address in Dublin. As these claims were put to her, the woman said she had no recollection.

The first man’s account is that the car briefly stopped outside the home of the third man, who went inside while the others remained in the vehicle.

The 39-year-old states that the car stopped again on a road where there was kissing between him and the woman then he performed oral sex on her. The first man said the woman also performed oral sex on him while she engaged in sex with the second man.

When the car reached his home, Mr Dwyer said his client stated he went inside with the second man while the woman remained in the car briefly with the third man.

His client states the woman had sex with the second man in his bedroom before she performed oral sex on him and the third man. Then, the first man says the woman agreed to his request for sex, and there was consensual sex between them. He said the woman also performed oral sex on the second and third men.

These men later left the first man’s house in the early morning. He and the woman slept in his bed. Mr Dwyer put it to the woman that his client says there was no further sexual activity, but some conversation then and in the morning when they woke up when she asked him for a lift home, which he refused.

She insisted there was no conversation between her and the first man when she woke the next morning. She said she was in a rush to leave.

Mr Dwyer put to the woman that records from her phone show that she made a phone call while in the house, but she said she couldn’t remember.

He suggested that the time difference between when she made this phone call and when she ordered a taxi suggests it was possible the conversation occurred. She said she didn’t remember any conversation.

Mr Dwyer noted a report from the sexual assault treatment unit (SATU) recorded bruising on the woman’s legs and marks on her arms. He put it to her that his client hadn’t physically assaulted her. The woman said she didn’t remember any violence, but “I think rape is violence”.

He then asked the woman why she didn’t use the word ‘rape’ in her statement to gardai. “I don’t know if you talked to anyone who has been through this. Rape is a hard word to use. If I used different language, that’s why.”

Later, Mr Dwyer asked the woman again if she had any recollection of his client performing oral sex on her. She said no, adding there was no consent for any sexual activity with his client or the other two accused.

During cross-examination on behalf of the second man, the woman agreed with senior counsel Garret Baker that she appears to be dancing in most of the CCTV footage from the club.

The second man, aged 42 with an address in Wicklow, has pleaded not guilty to one count of raping the woman in the car and one count of raping her in the house.

She told Mr Baker she wouldn’t have stayed out after her friend left if she had any concerns.

Mr Baker then outlined to the woman a conversation his client says he had with her after they left the nightclub. She said she didn’t remember. “They all seem to be able to recollect, and I can’t”.

Mr Baker told her his client was the driver of the vehicle, which she, the other two men got into. She said she couldn’t remember any conversation in the car and disagreed with the suggestion that she engaged in banter with the accused men.

She told Mr Baker she could recall the car stopped, but could not remember where this was.

Mr Baker noted the woman had given evidence that she didn’t recall sexual activity with the first man. “I recall some of it; it wasn’t consensual,” she replied.

Counsel said his client’s account is that he got out of the driver’s seat and into the back of the car, where Mr Baker suggested there was consensual sexual intimacy between the woman and his client. The woman rejected this suggestion.

He put it to the woman that there was consensual sex between her and his client in the house. She replied, “It wasn’t consensual”.

Mr Baker asked if she could recall any suggestion of anal sex, to which she said no. When asked, if she remembered anyone saying anything specific while in the bedroom, she said she didn’t.

He then noted that her statement to gardai refers only to the driver opening a door and unzipping his trousers. The woman said she couldn’t differentiate between them. “They were strangers to me then, they were strangers to me now.”

The third man, aged 34 with an address in Dublin, has pleaded not  guilty to orally raping the woman in the house and sexually assaulting her in the car.

The trial continues before Mr Justice Paul Burns and a jury.