Jury begins deliberating in trial of man accused of raping former partner

A jury at the Central Criminal Court has begun deliberating in the trial of a man accused of raping his former partner from Longford following her alleged kidnapping. Justice Carmel Stewart charged the jury on the legal test for consent, directing them that an honest but unreasonable belief in consent may constitute a defence to rape, provided such belief was genuinely held and not based on self-deceit. The judge instructed the jury to consider whether any claimed belief in consent could have been genuinely held given the circumstances the woman described. The accused has pleaded not guilty to rape, false imprisonment, and production of an article in November 2015, and to three counts of assault causing harm between 2011 and 2015. He faces additional allegations of false imprisonment of the woman and their children in unsuitable accommodation, and various assaults throughout their relationship. Two charges have been withdrawn.