Jury fails to agree in trial of three men accused of rape

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

A jury failed to agree on any of eight counts in the trial of three men accused of rape at the Central Criminal Court. The proceedings were reported on 5 April 2023.

The first defendant, aged 22, had pleaded not guilty to rape and sexual assault. The second, aged 23, had pleaded not guilty to rape, oral rape and two counts of sexual assault. The third, also aged 23, had pleaded not guilty to rape and oral rape.

The offences were alleged to have occurred at a hotel car park in Leinster on 20 December 2017, when the complainant was 17. The defendants denied wrongdoing and said they had consensual sex with her.

After a three-week trial and just over nine hours of deliberations, the jury told Justice Melanie Greally on 5 April that it could not reach verdicts. The judge had said on 4 April that she could accept majority verdicts agreed by at least 10 jurors. She adjourned the case for mention on 28 April.

The complainant said she repeatedly refused requests for sex. The first defendant said the encounter was consensual and that she had not communicated that she did not want sex. The third defendant also described consensual activity and said the complainant had suggested they have sex.