Man appeals conviction for raping two women

A man convicted of raping two women in Sligo town has launched an appeal against his conviction at the Court of Appeal. Clement Limen, aged 47, of North Court, Quayside, Sligo, was found guilty by jury at the Central Criminal Court of raping two women at his apartment on June 2, 2014, following their meeting at a nightclub during a bank holiday weekend. He was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years imprisonment in December 2017. The defence contends that prosecuting counsel inadvertently introduced the concept of "system evidence" during closing arguments to the jury, potentially creating prejudicial inferences about corroboration between the complainants' accounts. The prosecution disputes this characterisation, maintaining that the counsel's language carried only ordinary meaning and that matters of corroboration were properly left to the jury's determination. The Court of Appeal, presided over by President Mr Justice George Birmingham, sat with two fellow justices and has reserved judgement on the appeal.