Courts / Ireland / Report

Husband tells rape trial he had 'dominant-submissive' relationship with wife

Summary

In a rape trial at the Central Criminal Court, a man accused of repeatedly raping his wife with household objects claimed the relationship was consensual and described it as a dominant‑submissive dynamic. He denied that he had taken advantage of her when she was unconscious, stating he had full consent. The prosecution alleged 15 counts of rape between 2005 and 2014, involving penetration with items such as a knife, cheese grater, bottle, carrot, banana, cucumber, tulip, wooden spatula, decanter stopper, part of a shoe, bicycle pump, deodorant bottle and his finger, plus anal rape and thumb penetration. The accused, who pleaded not guilty, said he took photographs of the acts, claiming they were consensual and part of a fetish. He also claimed to have destroyed a hard drive containing evidence, but said it was stolen. The trial is in its closing stages before a jury and Mr Justice Paul Burns.

Who, what, where, when and why

What: Report matter: Husband tells rape trial he had 'dominant-submissive' relationship with wife. Charges or matters: 15 counts of raping the woman on unknown dates between January 1, 2005 and September 5, 2014. Procedural stage: trial

When:

• January 1, 2005 Incident
• September 5, 2014 Incident
• 2022-10-25 Publication

Why: Ms Brennan suggested to the man that the reason he took the pictures was because he knew it was activity his wife would never consent to and that he took them to look at "again and again". CNI source report

Case subjects

Places mentioned

Topics

Stage Trial Theft

Read the original CNI report