29-year-old man's rape trial reaches closing arguments

This report is a localnews.ie summary based on public court reporting and records; sources are listed below.

The trial of a 29-year-old man charged with rape reached closing arguments at the Central Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 25 October 2016.

The accused conceded he could have had sex with his friend while they shared a bed, but said it resulted from sexual parasomnia, or sexsomnia, a condition involving sexual acts during sleep.

In closing arguments on 25 October 2016, prosecuting counsel Patrick McGrath said “drink and opportunism” was a more likely explanation. He said sleepwalking had only been raised three days after the event and argued that the accused's actions and conversations that night were inconsistent with parasomnia.

Defence counsel Hugh Hartnett cited the man's history of sleep difficulties and friends' evidence of previous sexual behaviour while asleep. He said saved emails showed the accused had contacted an Edinburgh sleep clinic soon after the event, before any complaint to gardaí, disputing the suggestion that the explanation arose only after their involvement.

Mr Hartnett said both had sought help from a rape crisis centre and the woman initially intended not to complain. He questioned her subsequent change of mind and said messages exchanged with a lawyer friend were missing; she could not remember whether she had deleted them.

Dr Catherine Crowe, director of a sleep clinic at the Mater Hospital, had testified that the alleged rape was more likely an episode of sleep sex, citing a history of parasomnia and sexsomnia. Prosecution witness Dr Harry Kennedy, Clinical Director of the Central Mental Hospital, said the man's behaviour demonstrated fully intact mental capacity at the time.

Mr Justice Patrick McCarthy was summarising the case and instructing the jury on the law. Deliberations were expected the following day.