Courts / Wicklow / Report
Garda's version of alleged sex assault like 'badly-written erotica', State tells jury
Summary
In a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court trial, Garda William Ryan, 41, pleaded not guilty to three counts of sexual assault and one count of false imprisonment. He claimed the complainant, who had come to the Aughrim Garda Station to retrieve her son's car, had masturbated him in a shower room while facing away, asserting the encounter was fully consensual. Ryan described the woman's behaviour as "sexually‑charged" and said he was "hot under the collar" and "fully aroused." The State's counsel, Maurice Coffey SC, described Ryan's account as "badly‑written erotica," arguing the woman's actions were implausible and that Ryan had prevented her from leaving the station and assaulted her three times. Defence counsel Breffni Gordon BL argued no crime was committed, noting the woman left the station the same day and later told her husband about the incident. The judge will deliver her charge on Thursday.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Garda's version of alleged sex assault like 'badly-written erotica', State tells jury. Charges or matters: three counts of sexual assault and not guilty to one count of false imprisonment of the woman at Aughrim Garda Station, Main Street, Aughrim, Co Wicklow on September 29, 2020. Procedural stage: sentence
When:
- September 29, 2020 Incident
- 2024-07-23 Publication
Why: In his direct evidence to the trial, William Ryan claimed the complainant masturbated him in a shower room while facing away from him at his direction, because it was during the Covid pandemic. CNI source report
Case subjects
Applicant
Charges: three counts of sexual assault and not guilty to one count of false imprisonment of the woman at Aughrim Garda Station, Main Street, Aughrim, Co Wicklow on September 29, 2020 (Alleged Or Contested)
Plea: Not guilty
Places mentioned
Topics
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