Donegal woman denies fabricating rape allegation because friends mocked her

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

A Donegal woman denied a suggestion that she fabricated a rape allegation because friends mocked her about a blood stain on her dress. The proceedings were reported on 19 February 2016. The report identified the court as Dublin Criminal Court.

The woman alleged that she was raped in an alleyway in a Donegal town in July 2012. She was 18 at the time and 22 when the proceedings were reported. The court heard that she went down the alleyway with the accused and later rejoined her friends outside a fast food outlet. Two male friends questioned her about a blood stain on her dress. The court also heard that she was taken to hospital later that night with severe bleeding.

During cross-examination, defence counsel Shane Costello suggested that she invented the allegation because she was embarrassed by her friends mocking her about the stain. She rejected that suggestion. The trial continued before a jury of seven men and five women.