Man pleads not guilty to rape and sexual assault charges

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

The man has pleaded not guilty at the Central Criminal Court to rape, sexual assault and having sex with a mentally impaired person. The charges concern alleged acts at his Dublin home on 12 June 2013. The proceedings were reported on 25 November 2015.

On 24 November 2015, jurors were played two DVDs of the woman speaking to a specialist interviewer a week after the alleged rape and again the following year. Mr Justice Tony Hunt explained that the jury must treat the recorded evidence as if it had been given from the witness box.

The woman, who was in her twenties, said she became separated from her mother while walking in Dublin. She said a man pushed her into a corner, offered to help her and took her by the hand to a house. She said he locked the door, would not let her leave and had sexual intercourse with her, which hurt her.

The accused claims he had sexual contact with the woman but says he did not know she was mentally impaired.

Caroline Biggs SC, prosecuting, told the jury that a person could not consent to sex without the capacity to consent. She said mental impairment meant being unable to live independently or protect oneself from serious exploitation. Counsel explained that it was a valid defence for an accused to claim he “did not know and had no reason to suspect” the person was mentally impaired.

The defence was due to have the opportunity to cross-examine the woman by video link on 25 November 2015.