Man pleaded not guilty to raping his wife, trial hears

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

A man who cannot be named for legal reasons pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 15 counts of raping his wife. The proceedings were reported on 24 October 2022.

The charges relate to unknown dates between 1 January 2005 and 5 September 2014. They allege vaginal penetration with objects or his finger, anal rape and penetration of the woman’s anus with his thumb. All 15 offences are charged under section 4 of the 1990 Rape Amendment Act.

The State’s case was that the woman was unconscious and unable to consent. Giving evidence in his defence, the man told Vincent Heneghan SC that he believed his wife had consented to every sexual activity and that he never took advantage of her. He said there was never enough alcohol involved to impair her judgment.

The woman told Eilis Brennan SC, prosecuting, that in March 2019 she discovered a video on her husband’s laptop which she said showed him raping her with objects while she was passed out. She said she had been looking for a different video he had threatened to send to her parents. The man said he had made that video because he was concerned about her drinking and had said he would show it to her parents; he denied making such a threat after she stopped drinking in June 2017.

The jury also heard that gardaí had shown the man images alleged to depict him raping his wife. He told gardaí he did not recognise them, said others had access to the laptop and maintained that his wife had consented to the use of objects. The trial continued before a jury and Mr Justice Paul Burns.